Syracuse, N.Y. – Syracuse welcomed Mercyhurst to the JMA Wireless Dome Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
The big news was that Donnie Freeman dressed in uniform and fully participated in pregame warmups with the idea that he is being worked back into the rotation. He was unlikely to play against the Lakers. But seems likely to play soon. We\u2019ll ask after the game.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s get right to it. It\u2019s the holidays. We all have stuff to do.<\/p>\n
First half: Syracuse 39, Mercyhurst 23. Final: Syracuse 76, Mercyhurst 62.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what happened:<\/p>\n
Syracuse won this game, which is better than what happened against Hofstra.<\/p>\n
But the Orange let Mercyhurst hang around. The Lakers drained 3-of-7 from the 3-point line in the second half and late in the game made a 3-pointer to get within 69-56. <\/p>\n
Syracuse seemed disinterested in this game at various points. <\/p>\n
It was just a sort of meh performance. <\/p>\n
The Lakers outscored the Orange 39-37 in the second half. Yes, you read that right. <\/p>\n
Adrian Autry played 10 guys in the first half, nobody for longer than 17 minutes.<\/p>\n
The winner of the minutes sweepstakes would be Naithan George, who made pretty good work of those minutes.<\/p>\n
George was much more aggressive trying to score against Mercyhurst. He had 8 first-half points, including a 3-for-3 moment at the line. <\/p>\n
Before Wednesday, George had taken a total of 16 free throws in 10 previous games, which is interesting and probably not ideal for a guy who has the ball in his hands so much.<\/p>\n
He later made 2-of-2 to finish the day 5-of-5. So obviously the key to improving SU\u2019s free throw shooting is to have George take more.<\/p>\n
The Orange, as a whole, went 12-for-16 from the free throw line against Mercyhurst.<\/p>\n
George did turn it over four times in that first half and six times in the game. I know he is trying to push the ball, but sometimes that causes problems for him in the turnover category. Georgia Tech was not a speedy team last year, so I\u2019m assuming that\u2019s part of George\u2019s new point guard identity that is taking some time to adjust. Six turnovers in 34 total minutes is a lot of turnovers.<\/p>\n
JJ Starling had 13 first-half points and was 2-of-2 from the 3-point line. He has been a much better shooter from that distance this season than in years past.<\/p>\n
William Kyle hauled in nine rebounds in 14 first-half minutes. Which is a lot of rebounds; more than he\u2019s averaging for entire games this season (8.0). <\/p>\n
The Lakers are small. How small, you ask? Here are the heights of the starting lineup: 5-11, 6-8, 6-0, 6-2, 6-5. <\/p>\n
You\u2019d think (or at least I thought) Syracuse would bang the ball inside against Mercyhurst and dominate the paint. <\/p>\n
We would be wrong in this instance. The points-in-paint category was even at 14 in the first half. SU did dominate the second-chance points category, 15-6, and smoked Mercyhurst on the boards in general.<\/p>\n
One of the issues with the paint points situation was how many shots at the rim the Orange missed. SU was 14-of-33 from the field at the break. It was 10-of-20 from 2. <\/p>\n
At any rate, here\u2019s a little appreciation spot for Will Kyle, who works hard every minute out there. He finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks.<\/p>\n
Sadiq White had 13 and nine.<\/p>\n
Mercyhurst got to 43-29 in the second half on a nice Jake Lemelman lefty drive, but then Kyle slammed home two dunks in transition after a a George rebound to Starling-to-Kyle pass, then a George scoop of a loose ball and a long pass ahead to Nate Kingz, who left it for Kyle.<\/p>\n
The Lakers hung around a bit. It was deader than dead in the dome. There was not a lot to really get amped about. <\/p>\n
The turnovers did dampen the potential dome festivities. Syracuse kept turning it over. On simple drives. On weird pass attempts. <\/p>\n
It was not good.<\/p>\n
I will give some credit to Mercyhurst. Forcing turnovers is something they do well.<\/p>\n
SU turned it over 16 times against the Lakers, who scored 23 (!) points off those turnovers.<\/p>\n
I appreciate Kiyan Anthony\u2019s moxie.<\/p>\n
By that I mean, he is unafraid. Of taking shots. Of the moment. Of anything, seemingly.<\/p>\n
I love confidence in a player. <\/p>\n
Anthony has been great against these lesser teams at getting to the rim. It\u2019ll be tougher in ACC contests against bigger, more mature bodies, but he\u2019s a scorer and every team needs one of those guys. <\/p>\n
Does he sometimes take questionable shots? Sure. But at least he\u2019s attempting to score. <\/p>\n
He\u2019s also turning out to be a decent passer and has played some lead guard. He scored 12 on Wednesday.<\/p>\n