Syracuse dominates Binghamton 85-47 in season opener
Donnie Freeman's 20 points helped Syracuse past Binghamton in its season opener, avenging its early-season woes from last year. Aaron Hammer | Staff Photographer
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As William Kyle III swatted a layup at the rim to help Syracuse retain a 30-point lead with less than four minutes left, Adrian Autry was fired up on the sidelines, pumping his fist in excitement.
It was a stark difference from the Orange’s opening to last year, when they barely beat crosstown Le Moyne, which kick-started the program’s worst campaign since 1968-69.
To begin a pivotal Year 3 of the Autry era, Syracuse (1-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) cruised to an 85-47 win over Binghamton (0-1, 0-0 America East) in its season opener. Looking to snap its four-year March Madness drought, the program’s longest spell in over five decades, Monday was a much-needed blowout win for Autry to set the stage to return to the program’s “Orange Standard.”
While star senior guard J.J. Starling — who led Syracuse with 17.8 points per game last year — suffered a lower-body injury less than three minutes into the game and never returned, the Orange commanded a double-digit lead through the contest.
Starling landed awkwardly on an alley-oop assist to Kyle, instantly leaving the game. He did, however, sit on SU’s bench the rest of the game after a brief visit to the locker room.
The Orange were led by five players scoring in double figures, as Donnie Freeman (20), Kyle (16), Kiyan Anthony (15), Naithan George (14) and Tyler Betsey (10) all reached the threshold. Besides Freeman, who only played 14 games as a freshman before suffering a season-ending injury, each player who scored in double figures made their SU debut.
Syracuse finished the game shooting 35-of-66 from the field and 4-of-21 on 3-pointers. The Bearcats, meanwhile, shot 15-of-45 while shooting 1-of-13 from 3.
SU’s defense also forced 22 turnovers throughout the game, topping its season-high 17 forced against Bucknell last year. Binghamton’s 47 points were also fewer than SU allowed in a single game last year.
The Orange opened the game with a pace and energy that wasn’t seen by last year’s squad. Four offensive rebounds — leading to 11 throughout the game — helped SU score the first six points and capture a lead it never relinquished.
Despite opening the game with 10 unanswered points, the Orange’s lead only climbed to 12-4 by the under-12 timeout. While SU remained in a dud offensively the remainder of the half once Starling went down, shooting 13-of-34 from the field and 1-for-12 from 3, it had a 32-14 lead at halftime.
Albeit against a Binghamton squad that’s ranked No. 337 in the nation by KenPom and No. 328 by EvanMiya, Syracuse’s 14 first-half points allowed were its fewest since surrendering 23 versus California last February.
The Bearcats underwent an over eight-minute spell without scoring, allowing SU to maintain a double-digit lead throughout most of the first half.
Syracuse’s offense began to percolate in the second half, as it made its first seven field goals en route to a 49-22 lead five-and-a-half minutes into the second half. Anthony assembled a personal 6-0 run, helping him finish his collegiate debut 6-of-10 shooting on the court, where his father Carmelo began his Hall of Fame career.
The Orange frequently got the ball inside, especially to Kyle on lobs. The transfer, who spent last year at UCLA after being a First Team All-Summit League selection at South Dakota State, scored more points Monday than he did in a game last year with the Bruins.
With SU’s lead expanding to 30 points, Autry didn’t play anyone more than Anthony’s 28 minutes. He also played 11 players throughout the night
Binghamton was led by Demetrius Lilley, notching a double-double (17 points and 13 rebounds), while Zyier Beverly added 11 points.
A win over the Bearcats was expected. But a dominating victory gives the Orange a great start to a season where their head coach’s job may or may not be on the line.
