Orange Explode Past Seminoles, 85-72

Thursday, February 11

Syracuse, N.Y.

7:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

(17-8) (7-5)

Florida State

(16-8) (6-6)

Florida State

Syracuse

Michael Gbinije finished with a game-high 22 points on Thursday night.

Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski

2/11/2016 9:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

SYRACUSE, N.Y.- The Syracuse men's basketball utilized a hot-handed offensive effort against Florida State on Thursday night and defeated the Seminoles by a final score of 85-72 inside the Carrier Dome. Backed behind a season-best 62-percent field-goal percentage, the Orange led for nearly a full 40 minutes.

It was the fourth win in a row for Syracuse (17-8, 7-5 ACC) and seventh victory in its last eight contests. Despite leading by just three points at halftime, the Orange poured it on in the second half, outscoring Florida State (16-8, 6-6 ACC), 43-33.

Four players finished in double figures for Syracuse, including an impressive 22-point, eight-rebound performance from graduate student Michael Gbinije. The Orange veteran finished shooting 7-of-8 from the floor, including a 4-of-5 effort from three-point territory to lead both sides in scoring. He's scored in double digits in all 25 contests this year.

The freshmen tandem of Malachi Richardson and Tyler Lydon also had a solid showing, finishing with 17 and 15 points, respectively. Lydon added a game-high 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the campaign. Graduate student Trevor Cooney chipped in 10 points while senior DaJuan Coleman and junior Tyler Roberson combined for 17 points.

The final lead that Florida State held on Thursday night was just 1:56 into the first half with the score at 6-5. Just 20 seconds later, the Orange had an answer on a jumper from Richardson to retake the advantage and never look back. From the Richardson jump shot at 17:46 of the first, Syracuse led for the remainder of the contest.

The Orange utilized a 14-4 run and jumped out to a 19-10 lead by the 13:02 mark. Syracuse led by as many as 14 points after Richardson paved his way into the lane for a three-point play with 8:24 left until the break.

Despite the 14-point deficit for Florida State, the Seminoles outscored the Orange 23-11 for the remaining eight minutes of the first that included a buzzer-beating three-point basket from Devon Bookert. The three from Bookert led to a three-point Syracuse lead at the break, 42-39..

Syracuse opened the second half on a 17-3 run, extending its three-point half-time lead to 17 within the first four minutes. On the run, DaJuan Coleman raked in three consecutive baskets inside the paint while also distributing an assist on a beautiful find to Richardson for the layup. Backed behind a 59.3 percent shooting effort in the first, the Orange outdid that mark in the second half, knocking down 65.2 percent (15-of-23) of their shots in the second 20 minutes.

The Orange led by as many as 24 points in the second half before a late surge from the Seminoles brought the Syracuse lead down to 13 at the final whistle. Despite the late offensive push from Florida State, the Orange never flinched in the second half, leading all the way to the end to prevail 85-72.

Like Syracuse, Florida State also had four players finish in double figures, including a team-high 15 points from Devon Bookert. The Seminoles finished the contest shooting 26-of-63 (41.3 percent) from the floor.

Syracuse will travel to Boston College on Sunday to take on the Eagles at 1 p.m. Both live video and live stats can be accessed via Cuse.com.