Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski
Second Half Start Sparks 'Cuse Win
2/11/2016 9:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Three minutes and 40 seconds were all it took for the Syracuse men's basketball team to take a three point lead at the half to a 16-point Orange advantage and set the tone for a dominant second half, where 'Cuse won its fourth-straight game and seventh of its last-eight.
The Orange downed Florida State 85-72 on Thursday for their fifth-straight win at the Carrier Dome.
It started with six-straight from DaJuan Coleman, a dunk and two layups in the first-three possessions. A pair of Michael Gbinije threes, a Malachi Richardson jumper and a Tyler Roberson dunk later, the seven-possession blitz attack had put the game out of reach.
The Orange didn't miss in the span, setting the tone for a half in which they'd shoot almost 66-percent and finishing the game at 62-percent, Syracuse's first time over the 50-percent mark on the season.
"This was our most patient offensive game," said head coach Jim Boeheim. "We got good penetration from Frank, Malachi and Mike and they made really good dump offs. DaJuan gave us a really good start to the second half by dunking that one, going up and getting a rebound and then making a move all the way from the high post. Those were all good momentum plays and then Mike made the two threes which separated ourselves there. It was a really good offensive game for us."
The Orange came into the game off a nine-day layoff, where Gbinije said the team focused on ball movement and taking better shots - something that clearly worked for the Orange on Thursday.
"We just were playing free. We wanted to get it in transition and did a good job rebounding," Gbinije said. "In practice we made an effort to move the ball more and take good shots and what we did in practice paid off for us."
The Orange came out to a fast start in the first half as well, but a buzzer-beating three to end the first half pulled Florida State into halftime.
"We started real strong in the second half and just fed off of that," Coleman said. "I think I was able to get people going at the beginning we just went from there."
Syracuse will look to make it five in a row on Sunday, when the team heads to Boston College for a 1 p.m. tip off.
The Orange downed Florida State 85-72 on Thursday for their fifth-straight win at the Carrier Dome.
It started with six-straight from DaJuan Coleman, a dunk and two layups in the first-three possessions. A pair of Michael Gbinije threes, a Malachi Richardson jumper and a Tyler Roberson dunk later, the seven-possession blitz attack had put the game out of reach.
The Orange didn't miss in the span, setting the tone for a half in which they'd shoot almost 66-percent and finishing the game at 62-percent, Syracuse's first time over the 50-percent mark on the season.
"This was our most patient offensive game," said head coach Jim Boeheim. "We got good penetration from Frank, Malachi and Mike and they made really good dump offs. DaJuan gave us a really good start to the second half by dunking that one, going up and getting a rebound and then making a move all the way from the high post. Those were all good momentum plays and then Mike made the two threes which separated ourselves there. It was a really good offensive game for us."
The Orange came into the game off a nine-day layoff, where Gbinije said the team focused on ball movement and taking better shots - something that clearly worked for the Orange on Thursday.
"We just were playing free. We wanted to get it in transition and did a good job rebounding," Gbinije said. "In practice we made an effort to move the ball more and take good shots and what we did in practice paid off for us."
The Orange came out to a fast start in the first half as well, but a buzzer-beating three to end the first half pulled Florida State into halftime.
"We started real strong in the second half and just fed off of that," Coleman said. "I think I was able to get people going at the beginning we just went from there."
Syracuse will look to make it five in a row on Sunday, when the team heads to Boston College for a 1 p.m. tip off.
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