Syracuse survives upset scare for 71-63 win over Saint Joseph’s
Syracuse survived an upset scare Thursday night, taking down Saint Joseph’s 71-63 for its sixth victory of the season. Christian Calabrese | Staff Photographer
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Syracuse had its best chance yet to boost its resume over an eight-day stretch. The Orange fell three times in Las Vegas but secured a win over then-No. 13 Tennessee. With its hardest nonconference tests behind it, SU is now tuning up before Atlantic Coast Conference play.
Syracuse (6-3, ACC) took care of business late Thursday, defeating Saint Joseph’s (6-4, Atlantic 10) 71-63 for its sixth win of the season. The Orange started slow after a nine-day break but pulled away in the final minutes to seal the victory.
The Hawks gave an early scare as they went directly at William Kyle III down low. Saint Joseph’s led 8-4 as the Orange failed to record a field goal until nearly five minutes into the contest, when Nate Kingz nailed a corner 3.
SU fell behind as much as seven points but battled back as J.J. Starling took over. He crossed right to left, nearly dropping his defender, and swiftly moved inside for a floater. While the Orange began 5-for-6 from the charity stripe, they were just 2-for-10 from the field and trailed by five. The score flipped in Syracuse’s favor as Tyler Betsey caught fire.
As one of SU’s top 3-point threats, Betsey is never afraid to let it fly. Yet in his last three games entering Thursday night, he was 6-for-22 from deep. Betsey rattled off back-to-back 3s and then a mid-range fadeaway to mount a 10-0 run, giving SU its first lead of the day.
The Orange began to pull away slightly as their defense hunkered down. Syracuse forced the shot clock down to its final seconds multiple times. Eventually, it did force a shot clock violation, igniting its bench as assistant coach Dan Engelstad delivered a powerful fist pump.
The Hawks remained in the game at halftime, trailing by just four despite shooting 3-of-16 from 3. Saint Joseph’s entered on a four-game winning streak but failed against higher-level teams, losing to Virginia Tech by 35 just a few weeks ago.
SU faltered to open the second frame. The Hawks used bounce passes to break inside and tied the game at 38 under three minutes in. Starling again went to work, attempting to match the explosiveness of Deuce Jones II — who tallied a game-high 18 points.
Starling put his shoulder down to maneuver inside and kicked out a wild pass to Betsey. He converted on the contested 3 to retake the lead for the Orange. Both sides went back and forth through the second half. Kiyan Anthony scored his first field goal — an and-1 right-handed layup — and then hit Kingz for a 3, building a six-point lead. But the Hawks again clapped back with a 3 from Jaiden Glover-Toscano.
Through a spread-out scoring effort, SU chipped away at a final kill shot. Starling and George each found space inside for tough finishes and Kyle continued to fix his free-throw issues, splitting a pair to bring him to 5-for-6 on the game and a five-point lead.
In the closing minutes, the Orange did receive their coveted kill shot. Kyle bodied inside for an and-1 opportunity and Betsey, who led the way with 16 points for Syracuse, got a mid-range jumper to bounce in plus another foul. SU poured it on from there and took down the Hawks, even with the early scare.
