Orange beat Aztecs, advance to 2nd round

Friday, March 19

Indianapolis, IN

9:40 PM

Syracuse University

San Diego State

3/19/2021 11:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Highlights Press Conference Photo Gallery

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Buddy Boeheim tallied his second-straight 30+ point game and tied his career-high with seven 3-pointers to lead Syracuse (17-9) to a 78-62 victory against San Diego State (23-5) on Friday night in the First Round of the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. The matchup was played out at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.

Syracuse will face off with West Virginia on Sunday, March 21 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in second-round action. The game will tip at 5:15 p.m. ET on CBS.

HOW THE GAME WAS DECIDED
Syracuse seized control with 9:22 remaining in the first half when it tallied the final 18 points of the period to claim a 32-18 lead at the intermission. The Orange lead never slipped below 11 for the remainder of the contest as Syracuse sealed the victory.

Boeheim's 30 points were the most by a Syracuse player in an NCAA Tournament game since Wes Johnson tallied 31 points during a win against Gonzaga in the Second Round of the 2010 tournament. Joseph Girard III (12 points) and Marek Dolezaj (11 points) both joined Boeheim with double-digit scoring totals. Girard III also had team-highs with seven assists and six rebounds.

FROM BUDDY BOEHEIM
"We were great on defense" said Syracuse guard Buddy Boeheim. "The key was to get out on (Jordan) Schakel. We know that he is a great shooter, and he got some early looks that were somewhat uncontested, but we adjusted and did a really good job on him going forward. We did everything we needed to on the defensive end. We walled guys up and we knew who the shooters were. It was a great 40 minutes of defense."

STORMING AHEAD
The Aztecs got on the boards first with a layup from Nathan Mensah, but the Orange answered back with six-straight points to take a 6-2 lead with four minutes gone in the contest.

A 10-2 run put San Diego State ahead by four. However, Boeheim brought the Orange back by scoring all 11 of Syracuse's points during an 11-6 scoring stretch to give SU a 19-18 edge with 8:48 to play. Boeheim's 11 points were part of an eight-minute stretch in which he scored 16 consecutive points for the 'Cuse.

A 3-pointer from Boeheim at the 9:22 mark sparked an eruption on the offensive end for the Orange. Syracuse scored 18-straight points over the remainder of the half, the final 10 of which came from Girard III, to take a 32-18 lead into the break. The 18 points from San Diego State are the fewest by the Aztecs in a half this season.

ZONED IN
Syracuse's 2-3 zone limited the Aztecs to 7-of-31 from the field (.221), including 3-of-20 ( .150) on San Diego State's 3-point attempts, in the first half.

RACING AWAY IN INDY
The Aztecs edged the Orange 11-8 in the first five minutes of the second stanza before eight-straight points on a pair of triples from Boeheim and a midrange jumper from Kadary Richmond gave Syracuse a 19-point lead, 48-29 with 12:20 to play in the contest.

After Lamont Butler stopped the Syracuse scoring streak with a made free throw, the Orange went back on the offensive with another 8-0 run to go up 26, 56-30, with 9:27 left on the clock.

San Diego State surpassed Syracuse by a 10-point margin, 32-22, over the reminder of the contest. However, the Orange advantage could not be overcome as Syracuse sealed the victory, 78-62.

𝙒𝙀 𝙈𝘼𝙍𝘾𝙃 𝙊𝙉 🍊✊ pic.twitter.com/RMSUDhfaKL
— Syracuse Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) March 20, 2021

NOTABLE NUMBERS

Buddy Boeheim made seven 3-pointers during the contest, the second-most by a Syracuse player in an NCAA Tournament game. Current Syracuse assistant coach Gerry McNamara holds the record with nine triples in a win against Brigham Young in the First Round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament.
Boeheim's 30 points are also the most by a player in the 2021 NCAA Tournament as of the conclusion of the San Diego State contest.
Boeheim is the first Syracuse scorer with 30+ points in back-to-back contests since Hakim Warrick scored 35 against St. John's on February 23, 2005 and 36 against Providence on February 26, 2005. Boeheim scored 31 points in Syracuse's last game against Virginia in the ACC Tournament on March 11.
In their last 10 NCAA Tournament berths, the Orange are 9-1 in opening games.
Syracuse set a program record for made 3-pointers in an NCAA Tournament game with 15 triples. The previous record of 12 3-pointers came against Baylor in 2019 and Gonzaga in 2010.
The Orange also converted 55.6 percent (15-of-27) of its 3-point attempts, the best mark in a game since shooting 62.5 percent (15-of-24) from downtown in a win against Georgia Tech on March 4, 2017.
Syracuse swatted eight blocks during the contest, the eighth-most in program history during an NCAA Tournament game.
Syracuse's reserves outscored San Diego State's bench 22-12.
The Orange won the rebounding battle against the Aztecs, 34-33.
Boeheim's 30 points allowed him to move past Jon Cincebox (1,087 points) and Ed Stickel (1,096 points) for 56th place in program history for career points. Boeheim currently has 1,115 during his Orange tenure. He also moved past Eric Devendorf (208 3-pointers) for sole possession of fifth-place on the program's career 3-point field goal list, ending the night with 214 made 3-pointers in his career.

Gallery: (3-19-2021) Syracuse vs. San Diego State

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If fans are permitted to attend games – in some capacity – Syracuse Athletics will announce plans for spectators to secure admission to the events. Fans will be required to sit in their socially-distanced seat locations and wear a face covering.

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