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Through five games, it’s been clear that Judah Mintz is the catalyst for Syracuse’s offense. Entering Wednesday, Mintz led the Orange with 21.2 points per game, the next highest players, Chris Bell and J.J. Starling, each averaged under 13 points. At times this season, Mintz has had to put the offense on his back, scoring 20+ points in all but one of SU’s games.

Wednesday, he got some help. The point guard had a minimal impact scoring the ball, but it wasn’t needed. Anyone not named Mintz in Syracuse’s rotation had a strong showing on offense. Naheem McLeod dominated down low with a season-high 13 points. Bell provided a scoring spark with 18 points along with Kyle Cuffe Jr. off the bench who scored a career-high 13 points.

SU’s supporting cast showed up after two mediocre performances leading to a couple of lopsided losses. Seven Syracuse players, including every starter outside Mintz, finished in double figures. The balanced offensive effort led Syracuse (4-2, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) past Division II Chaminade (1-5, 0-1 Pacific West Conference) as the Orange bounced back with a 105-56 victory. Mintz scored four points, his lowest total since hitting the same mark against Miami on Jan. 16. Mintz’s three shot attempts were also a career-low, but the Orange still pushed the pace, getting easy looks inside and from beyond the arc.

“Watching the last couple of games, especially (in Hawaii), I thought the ball kind of stuck in people’s hands,” said Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry. “So we wanted to really make an emphasis on passing and sharing (the ball).

Syracuse asserted its dominance from the start. Against tougher competition, the Orange forced shots and at times looked out of sorts on offense. In its previous two games, Syracuse shot just 35% from the field. In the first half against Chaminade, the Orange shot 57%.

Bell bounced back from a horrid 2-of-18 shooting performance against No. 11 Gonzaga, including making just one of his 10 attempts from beyond the arc. The forward has flashed his potential throughout this season, including a monster 25-point performance against Colgate, leading Syracuse to a 24-point comeback.

Against Chaminade, it was clear Bell was focused on knocking down his shots. Bell’s first points of the ball game came with Mintz getting into the paint, drawing three defenders before kicking out to a wide-open Bell for a 3-pointer, giving Syracuse a 5-3 lead.

On SU’s next possession, Bell pump-faked from beyond the arc, using his 3-point threat to get into the lane and finish for 2. Bell helped SU go on a 9-0 in the first half, finishing it off with a deep 2, putting SU up 11-3.

The Orange got out to poor starts in both of their games against No. 7 Tennessee and No. 11 Gonzaga. Syracuse trailed by as much as eight in the first half against Tennessee and as much as 14 against Gonzaga. Despite the eventual lopsided results in both games, Autry felt his team battled well in each contest.

Wednesday, SU wasted no time getting out in front. By the under 12 minute timeout, Syracuse led 23-7, and led by 34 at halftime, making sure there was no doubt in the second half.

“That was a rough one,” said Chaminade head coach Eric Bovaird. “I told the guys that was probably one of our most embarrassing losses in my 13 years of coaching.”

Quadir Copeland faked as if he was going to receive a screen along the left wing. Copeland surged into the lane before hammering home a thunderous slam to put Syracuse up 20 halfway through the first. At this point, Mintz had attempted just two field goals and SU didn’t need him to, because the supporting cast showed up. Mintz’s two shots in the first half was his lowest in a half all season long.

Toward the end of the half, Mintz pushed the pace on a loose ball, flipping the ball up ahead to Cuffe Jr., who sent a lob to McLeod for an easy jam. McLeod finished with a team-high 11 points in the first half, as Syracuse scored a season-high 52 points in the opening 20 minutes.

“We have to make a more conscious effort of looking inside and we will do that going forward. We have to try to get the ball inside to balance our offense,” Autry said.

Syracuse continued its offensive onslaught in the second half, displaying consistency across the two halves, something that hasn’t always been present this season. Despite Chaminde scoring the first six points of the half, prompting an Autry timeout 63 seconds after the break, the Orange responded.

After missing all six of his looks in the first half, Justin Taylor got in on the action. Two 3-pointers led to eight points in less than five minutes. The sophomores’ buckets meant all nine Syracuse players who entered the game had made a basket up until that point as SU led 66-32.

Syracuse’s free-flowing offense led it to score a season-high 105 points and its most since scoring 95 against Oakland on Dec. 6, 2022. It was the first time Syracuse scored 100 points since Nov. 30, 2021, against Indiana in a double-overtime victory.

After Bell and Starling’s outbursts in the first half, Taylor, Cuffe Jr. and Copeland combined for 30 points in the second half. The trio shot 12-of-17 from the floor through the final 20 minutes.

Cuffe Jr. knocked down his first four shots of the half, including a 3-pointer to put Syracuse up 79-44. Maliq Brown cut off the passing lane and pushed the ball up the floor ahead to the Kansas transfer in the left corner. Cuffe Jr. let go of a quick-release jumper, which rolled around the rim and in to give Syracuse its biggest lead of the game.

Throughout the contest, Syracuse constantly moved the ball against a clearly outmatched Chaminade team. During stretches this season, SU’s offense has been stagnant and too reliant on Mintz. Heavy contest jumpers have led to two losses against tougher opponents. Wednesday night wasn’t the case.

“We got to help get easy baskets by our movement by screening and using our abilities to create for others,” Autry said.

Published on November 22, 2023 at 11:53 pm

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