SU Stops Seminole Streak; Earns Road Win

Saturday, December 4

Tallahassee, FL

4 PM

Syracuse University

5-3,1-0ACC

Florida State

5-3,0-1ACC

Syracuse

Florida St.

12/4/2021 5:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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TALLAHASSEE, FLA.- Syracuse snapped Florida State's 25-game conference home win streak and claimed its first ACC game of the 2021-22 campaign after defeating the Seminoles, 63-60.

Senior forward Cole Swider converted two free throws with 10 seconds remaining and Syracuse held off two final 3-point attempts from FSU to clinch the triumph. Swider and junior guard Joseph Girard each scored 16 points for the Orange (5-3, 1-0 ACC) while Florida State (5-3, 0-1 ACC) was led by sophomore guard Caleb Mills, who tallied 16.

Syracuse's defense keyed the victory. The Orange limited FSU to 22-of-63 (.349) from the field, including 4-of-30 (.133) on 3-point attempts.

FROM COACH BOEHEIM
"The defense won the game for us," said head coach Jim Boeheim. "We kept getting stops when we needed to have them and when they put their shooters in, we tried to take advantage of them on the offensive end. I thought we did a really good job of that. When you are down by eight on the road and come back to win it, that is hard to do and it was a tremendous character win."

HOW THE GAME WAS DECIDED
After Seminoles forward Malik Osborne opened the second half with a 3-pointer, the hosts found themselves owning a game-high 11-point advantage, 35-24. Girard III answered with a 3-pointer and ignited a 19-3 run that completely flipped the game's trend to that point.. All five Syracuse players on the court contributed points to the surge. Girard III and junior centerJesse Edwards notched five points apiece, senior guard Buddy Boeheim put up a pair of field goals and Swider hit a shot from outside the arc. Graduate forward Jimmy Boeheim contributed the field goal that gave the Orange the lead for good.

ORANGE HAVE JIMMY BOEHEIM TO START THINGS
Jimmy Boeheim continued a remarkable stretch of strong starts for the Orange. For the seventh time in eight games, he scored Syracuse's first points, this time answering a contest-starting bucket from Mills with a 3-pointer.

The Seminoles utilized eight straight points to take a 10-3 lead with 15:56 to go in the first period of play. Swider and Girard III netted back-to-back 3-pointers to narrow the score, 12-14. However, another uninterrupted 9-0 Florida State run led by senior guard Anthony Polite, established the largest lead of the half, 23-12.

DEFENDING
Syracuse's 2-3 zone helped keep the team in the contest. The Orange held Florida State to a modest 13-of-31 (.419), which included a 1-of-13 (.077) effort from the 3-point line. The two squads went into the intermission with the Seminoles ahead, 32-24.

DOWN TO THE WIRE
Although the Orange took the lead with 13:36 to go in the game, the Seminoles kept attacking throughout the rest of the half, managing to close the gap to one point, 61-60, with a 3-pointer from Malik Osborne with 42 seconds to go in regulation. Following a Syracuse steal, and with Florida State having fouls to give before the bonus, the Orange had to inbound the ball against pressure twice before Swider earned a trip to the line.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

Swider posted his third double-double of the campaign with 16 points and 10 boards.
Edwards recorded a career-best 12 rebounds including five offensive rebounds, tying his career best. Paired with 11 points, it represented the first double-double of his career.
The win marked the first game since last year's OT contest against Buffalo that the Orange had two players accumulate more than 10 boards.
The Orange defense limited the Seminoles to 4-of-30 (.133) from beyond the arc. It represented the lowest Syracuse opponent percentage since the Orange held North Carolina to 2-of-16 (.125) in the 2020 ACC Tournament.
This was the first time the Orange beat the Seminoles since 2017, when Syracuse defeated #6 Florida State, 82-72.
Top scorer Buddy Boeheim was held below 10 points for the first time this season. He had six points and five assists.
Junior guard Symir Torrence contributed five assists in 12 minutes of reserve work.

NEXT GAME
The Orange head to Madison Square Garden to take on #6 Villanova in the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday, Dec. 7 at 9:30 p.m.

Tickets are available at Cuse.com/Tickets or 888-DOME-TIX.

Gallery: (12-4-2021) Syracuse at Florida State

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