The Orange is Back! Season Opener is Set for Friday

Syracuse vs. Lehigh
Game Details	Friday, Nov. 13 \| Syracuse, N.Y. \| 7:00 p.m. Carrier Dome
Game Coverage	TV: ESPN3 Radio: Syracuse IMG Network \| Audio Twitter: @Cuse \| @Cuse_MBB Instagram: @cusepics \| @cuse_mbb
Syracuse Links	Notes \| News \| Roster \| Schedule
Lehigh Links	Notes \| News \| Roster \| Schedule

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The Orange is back in action as it hosts the Lehigh Mountain Hawks in the first game of the 2015-16 season on Friday, Nov. 13. Opening tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Carrier Dome.

Tickets can be purchased on Cuse.com, by calling 1-888-DOMETIX or at Gate B of the Carrier Dome. Fans can also watch the game on ESPN3. Live stats are available on Cuse.com.

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Season Opener:
Friday night's game marks the season opener for the Orange. Syracuse played exhibition games against LeMoyne and Florida Southern. The Orange beat crosstown foe LeMoyne, 97-58, in its first exhibition game. Syracuse also topped Florida Southern, the defending NCAA Division II national champions, by a score of 96-54.

Leadership from Gbinije and Cooney:
The Orange will be looking to returning senior starters Michael Gbinije and Trevor Cooney on Friday to lead the squad. In the exhibition game against LeMoyne, Gbinije tallied 21 points to lead the team in scoring. Cooney put up 15 points against Florida Southern while Gbinije added 14.

Debut for Freshmen:
Fans caught a glimpse of the freshmen for the first time during the exhibition games. Malachi Richardson is starting at guard for the Orange. He led the team in scoring against Florida Southern in the final exhibition game with 18 points. Coming off the bench for the Orange are freshmen Tyler Lydon and Franklin Howard. Lydon put up 12 points against Florida Southern and grabbed six rebounds in each exhibition game. Howard recorded 10 points against LeMoyne.

Mountain Hawks Patriot League Favorites:
Lehigh topped the Patriot League preseason poll at the league's annual media day in October. The Mountain Hawks finished the 2014-15 season with an overall record of 16-14 and a 10-8 mark in conference play. They had two wins against power conference opponents, DePaul and Airzona. Key returnees for Lehigh include defending Patriot League Player of the Year, Tim Kempton, and Rookie of the Year, Kahron Ross. Kempton averaged 16.6 points a game in 2014-15 season, while Kahron averaged 11.4 points a game.

First Meeting in More Than Eight Decades:
The Orange and the Mountain Hawks last met on New Year's Eve in the year 1931. The two have met three times with the Orange coming away victorious in all three meetings. In its last meeting, Syracuse beat Lehigh, 34-17 in Archbold Gymnasium.

Up Next:
Syracuse hosts St. Bonaventure on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.

The Orange is Back! Season Opener is Set for Friday

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Players Mentioned

Trevor Cooney

Michael Gbinije

Frank Howard

Tyler Lydon

Malachi Richardson

Syracuse University Athletics