Long-Distance Assault Leads 'Cuse Past Raiders

The Orange has made a living from behind the arc this season so far, and Tuesday night's 78-51 win over local-rival Colgate was no different.

Syracuse drilled 14-of-30 3-point attempts in the win, with graduate students Michael Gbinije and Trevor Cooney, and freshmen Tyler Lydon and Malachi Richardson each draining multiple shots from distance on the evening.

"I thought we moved the ball exceptionally well and got a lot of good shots," said assistant coach Mike Hopkins. "It was just really good that we were able to get into a flow. Obviously 30 3-point shots is a lot and you have to make 14 when you do it.

The four long-range weapons are combining to shoot 40.2 percent from behind the arc this season and the introduction of Richardson and Lydon is what's really helped the Orange out in getting open looks.

Last season, Cooney and Gbinije combined for 78-percent of the Orange's made 3-point field goals, proving to be the only two consistent options to stretch the floor. With the addition of Lydon and Richardson, the graduate students are attempting just 56-percent of the team's shots from behind the arc and the additional open looks that are coming from more weapons has proven to be beneficial.

Cooney and Gbinije are combining to hit their threes at a 41-percent clip, up seven percent from last season.

The Orange got things started from deep early on in Tuesday's win, as eight of the Orange's 11 first-half field goals came from behind the arc.

"It was just what they were giving us. We didn't force any threes, we were taking good ones," Cooney said. "They were playing off of us and we were able to get shots off and knock them down."

Richardson led the way early, with three of those first half threes, while Lydon chipped in a pair of his own.

"It's important for him to make shots because it really opens up everything for everyone else like me," Richardson said of Lydon's performance.

Richardson finished with 17 points in the contest, tying Gbinije for the team lead.

Gbinije also filled up the stats sheet, dishing out six assists to go with three steals, four rebounds and a block.

"I think Gbinije did a great job of penetrating and kicking the ball out to open shooters to give us good looks," Richardson said. "We knew we had to shoot the ball better than we were. I think that's the reason we struggled the last two games, we didn't shoot the ball well."

Syracuse will look to continue its hot-shooting when the team heads to Madison Square Garden to face St. John's on Sunday at Noon.

Players Mentioned

Trevor Cooney

Michael Gbinije

Tyler Lydon

Malachi Richardson

Tyler Roberson

Syracuse University Athletics