Four Double-Digit Scorers Gives Orange 61-53 Victory

Wednesday, January 9

Syracuse, N.Y.

8 PM

Syracuse University

(11-4) (2-0)

Clemson

(10-5) (0-2)

Clemson

Syracuse

Four Double-Digit Scorers Gives Orange 61-53 Victory

1/9/2019 10:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A balanced scoring attack, featuring four players in double-digits, helped lead Syracuse (11-4, 2-0 ACC) to its fourth-consecutive win Wednesday evening against Clemson (10-5, 0-2 ACC) in the Carrier Dome.

Elijah Hughes' team-high 14 points led an Orange offense that saw four players reach double-digit scoring. Both Tyus Battle and Frank Howard contributed 12 while Marek Dolezaj tallied 10 for his first double-digit game of the season. Oshae Brissett fell just shy with nine points. Hughes led the Orange on the boards for the second-straight game, wrangling in seven rebounds.

Clemson's Marcquise Reed recorded a game-high 16 points before fouling out of the game late in the second half.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Syracuse fired off a 19-5 run, including 10 unanswered points, early in the first half to take a substantial 21-10 lead. The run was highlighted by an 8-of-12 shooting performance from the floor that included 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Dolezaj kick-started the scoring streak, tying the game 5-5 on the Orange's first three-pointer of the night. Hughes and Howard both got in on the three-point scoring action while Bourama Sidibe battled down low to contribute two points. Brissett found his way around a Tiger defender becoming the fifth Orange player to score in the nine-minute run.

COACH BOEHEIM'S THOUGHTS
"It's a good win. This is a tough league. Everybody in this league can play. If you're not ready, you won't play well. We're going to have long nights in this league. Top to bottom it's tough. But it's good to get this and we've got a couple days to get ready for Saturday night."

CLEMSON TRIES TO CLAW BACK
The Tigers attempted to mount a comeback late in the first half with a short 6-0 run pulling themselves within four points, 23-17. The Orange went 0-of-4, all from three-point range, in the three-minute period. Elijah Thomas contributed four points for the Tigers during the run. Syracuse shut down the run with back-to-back baskets from Brissett and Battle to hold a 30-22 lead at the end of the first half.

DEFENSIVE PRESSURE
The comeback attempts did not end for the Tigers in the first half, but Clemson was unable to push past Syracuse's defensive pressure. The Tigers fired off back-to-back threes early in the second half that cut Syracuse's lead to six, 34-28. The Orange picked up their defensive pressure, forcing back-to-back turnovers from the Tigers. The turnovers set up three-pointers by both Dolezaj and Hughes extending the Orange to a 41-28 lead.

The Tigers once again pulled within six, 54-48, thanks to a 7-0 run that was led by three baskets from Marcquise Reed. After Hughes moved the Orange back to an eight-point lead on a pair of free throws, Reed went to the line making a pair of his own, 56-50. Four critical rebounds for the Orange in the final three minutes of the game allowed Syracuse to shut down Clemson's offense and hold on for the victory.

OF NOTE

Syracuse has now won three-straight against Clemson, evening the series at 4-4.
The Orange move to 2-0 in ACC play for the first time since the 2014-15 season when they won four-straight to open conference action.
For the fourth-straight game Howard, Battle, Hughes, Brissett and Dolezaj made up the starting five. The Orange have now won four-straight with this starting lineup.
Howard recorded his 800^th career-point on his first basket in the second half as well as his 40^th career-game in double-digit scoring.
Sidibe helped contribute to the team's seven blocks, tying a career-high with three.
Clemson took a narrow 36-35 advantage on the boards.
Syracuse dominated points off turnovers taking a 20-12 advantage.

UP NEXT
Syracuse welcomes Georgia Tech to the Carrier Dome on Saturday, Jan. 12 at 6 p.m. The ACC matchup will be broadcast live on ESPN2. Fans can also listen to the live broadcast on the Syracuse IMG Radio Network.

Tickets are available at cuse.com/tickets or by calling 1-888-DOME-TIX.