Girard's 24 Points Helps Orange Beat Hokies

Wednesday, January 11

Syracuse, N.Y.

7 PM

Syracuse University

11-6,4-2ACC

Virginia Tech

11-6,1-5ACC

Virginia Tech

Syracuse

1/11/2023 9:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Highlights Jim Boeheim Press Conference Joe Girard Interview Photo Gallery

Joseph Girard III (24 points) scored in double figures for the 10th consecutive contest and led Syracuse (11-6, 4-2) to an 82-72 triumph against Virginia Tech (11-6, 1-5) on Wednesday night.

Maliq Brown logged the first double-double of his career with 11 points and a personal-best 12 boards. Jesse Edwards added 13 points coupled with a career-high six assists. Judah Mintz (12 points) and Justin Taylor (10 points) gave the Orange five performers in double figures.

HOW THE GAME WAS DECIDED
A layup from Brown initiated a 10-2 Orange run that provided Syracuse with its largest lead of the night, 22 points, at 65-43. Coach Jim Boeheim's squad maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.

BASILE PACES EARLY HOKIE ADVANTAGE
Grant Basile scored three straight baskets to help Virginia Tech move in front, 10-5, in the early going. Brown hopped off the bench and helped the Orange retaliate, scoring in the paint and adding a free throw. Edwards followed with a basket and a conventional three-point play and Syracuse led, 15-14. A 3-pointer from Taylor extended the hot Syracuse stretch to 11-2 and put the hosts in front, 18-14.

A 3-pointer from Virginia Tech's Sean Pedulla gave the Hokies their last lead, 24-22, with 8:32 remaining in the opening half. Five unanswered points from Taylor put Syracuse back in front for good.

The Orange entered the break ahead, 43-37.

STRONG SECOND HALF SURGE
Over the opening four and a half minutes of the second half, Syracuse outscored Virginia Tech 12-2. Girard started the spurt with a jumper before closing it out with his second 3-pointer of the night, which gave the Orange a 55-39 advantage. Girard tallied 15 of his game-high 24 points after the intermission.

SU strengthened its lead to 22 points twice down the stretch. Defense played a role as the Orange limited the Hookies to just 1-of-10 3-point attempts over the last 20 minutes.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

Syracuse held Virginia Tech to 3-of-19 (.158) on its 3-point tries.
Girard (1,419 points) stepped past Otis Hill (1,416) into the 32nd spot on the Syracuse career-scoring index.
All nine Syracuse players who saw court time had at leat one rebound and eight of the nine scored.
Girard converted three 3-pointers and improved his career total to 261, good for 24th on the all-time ACC list.
Syracuse outscored the Hokies in bench points (26-12) and second-chance points (13-8).
Grant Basile led Virginia Tech with a double-double performance of 26 points and 10 rebounds.
Syracuse upped its advantage in the all-time series to 12-6.

UP NEXT
Syracuse will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 14, as it hosts Notre Dame inside the JMA Wireless Dome. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. and the matchup will air live on the ACC Network.

TICKETS
Syracuse men's basketball tickets are available online (cuse.com/tickets), by phone (1-888-DOMETIX), and at the Dome Box Office (Gate B).

For complete coverage of Syracuse men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter (@Cuse_MBB) and Instagram (@cuse_mbb).

Gallery: (1-11-2023) Syracuse vs. Virginia Tech