Syracuse Defeats Charlotte, UConn Thursday

Wednesday, November 25

Paradise Island, Bahamas

2:30 p.m.

Syracuse University

Charlotte

11/25/2015 4:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas - The Syracuse men's basketball team improved to 4-0 on the season, defeating Charlotte 83-70 on Wednesday afternoon in game two of the Battle 4 Atlantis. Syracuse faces #18/21 UConn tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN.

The Orange's 14 3-pointers set Syracuse up for the 13-point victory. The outburst represented the most three's made in a game since the 64-63 victory over Wisconsin in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. The 2015-16 Orange are now tied for second in the school record books for most 3-point field goals made in a game.

Grad student Michael Gbinije paced the Orange in the win, racking up 26 points and going 6-8 from the 3-point arc. The guard was just one point shy of his career high 27 points, while his six three's become his new career-best.

Grad student Trevor Cooney reached the 1,000 point milestone in the win, finishing the day with 19 points, including three 3-pointers. The guard now has 1,016 career points, becoming the 59th member of the Syracuse basketball program to join the prestigious club.

Two more Orange finished in the day in double digits, as freshmen Tyler Lydon and Malachi Richardson tallied 18 and 12 points, respectively. Lydon's 18 points set a new season high for him, while the forward also pulled down eight rebounds on the afternoon.

Junior Tyler Roberson led the Orange on the boards, posting 11 rebounds including six offensive rebounds.

The Orange jumped out to a 19-3 lead to kick off the opening half, complemented by 17 unanswered points in the first seven minutes of play. Cooney hit his 1,000 career point doing what he does best, sinking a 3-pointer at the 15:37 mark. A three from Gbinije gave Syracuse a commanding 30-14 lead with 8:45 left in the half, forcing a Charlotte timeout.

The Orange continued the 3-point surge, with Gbinije sinking yet another three from the same spot a minute after, extending the Syracuse lead 33-18. With nine seconds left in the half, a kick out to Cooney from freshman Franklin Howard marked the ninth 3-pointer hit by the Orange in the half to seal a 50-27 lead heading into halftime.

The grad students led the offensive burst in the opening half, as Gbinije finished the first 20 minutes with 16 points, with 12 of those points coming from beyond the arc. Cooney racked up 15 points, including his three 3-pointers, in the first half.

Charlotte fired back in the opening minutes of the second half, going on a 10-0 run to cut the Syracuse lead down to 13, 50-37. The Orange, however, struck at the 17:11 mark with a three by Richardson to open up scoring for Syracuse in the second half.

Steady scoring by the Orange, however, maintained a comfortable lead for Syracuse heading into the final 10 minutes of the game. A 3-pointer by Richardson and a layup by Cooney extended the Orange lead to 22 with a 70-48 lead with 10:23 left to play.

Gbinije sunk his sixth 3-pointer of the afternoon at the 4:56 mark, giving Syracuse a 79-61 advantage over Charlotte. At 16-5 run made by the 49ers cut the Orange lead down to nine with just over a minute left to play, but the run didn't faze Syracuse, as the clock expired with the Orange up 13, 83-70.