Syracuse topples Oakland, 95-66

It was a 29-point margin of victory for the Orange on Tuesday night in the JMA Wireless Dome. Syracuse took on the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in a bit of a tune-up game before Georgetown comes to town on Saturday.

It was a quick start for the Orange. Jesse Edwards sent the opening tip back and the Orange pushed into the half court finishing with an easy lay in for Edwards. It was quick to notice that Syracuse was trying to work on the offense moving the ball around more and using quick ball movements with Judah Mintz.

After the game Coach Boeheim said that he was glad to see Mintz starting to recognize what the opposing defense was showing. Saying that early in the season he would typically take the ball and just shoot, now he is seeing what is in front of him and moving the ball around.

Mintz would finish with 10 points shooting 50% from the field. Mintz also dished out 5 assists, tying his season high in only 21 minutes on the floor.

Other top performers for the Orange included Jesse Edwards and Joe Girard, who both had 18 points.

The Oakland squad had been struggling coming into the match-up, now losing their last 6 games. However, there were some highlights for the Golden Grizzlies, mainly coming from their sophomore forward Trey Townsend. Townsend would end up with a double-double, playing nearly all 40 minutes and would finish with a team high 29 points and 12 rebounds.

Syracuse was able to utilize its bench with the large lead, which at one point was 42 points. Off the bench, the Orange were led by Maliq Brown and Symir Torrence, who both had 12 points.

Syracuse also dominated in the paint, gathering 58 points under the basket alone.

One improvement that Coach Boeheim wants to see from his team is rebounding, especially on the offensive side of the court.

Syracuse will be back on the court on Saturday in the Dome when they take on rival Georgetown. The game will start at 1:00 p.m. and will be aired on ABC.