Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

SYRACUSE 84, SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT STATE 59

By Chris Carlson

Syracuse, N.Y. — The Syracuse basketball team beat Division II Southern Connecticut State 84-59 in an exhibition game on Monday at the Carrier Dome.

Check out the best and worst from the Orange's performance.

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Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

BEST PERFORMANCE

Tyus Battle is going to find himself a lot here this season but you knew that. His improvement sparked Syracuse’s second-half run. Battle finished with 20 points and 6 rebounds.

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Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

BEST NON-BATTLE PERFORMANCE

Oshae Brissett isn’t going to come off the floor too often this year. The true freshman finished with 16 points and 5 rebounds.

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Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

BEST RUN

Starting with a Frank Howard jumper with 3:41 left in the first half, Syracuse went on a 26-6 run that ended with a Brissett layup with 15:24 left in the second half. Syracuse became much more aggressive driving to the basket during that stretch.

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Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

KEY TO THE GAME

Keyed by a spurt of increased aggressiveness from Battle, Syracuse did a significantly better job attacking the basket late in the first half and early in the second half.

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BEST BLOCK

With 17:31 left in the second half, Paschal Chukwu met Southern Connecticut State’s Luke Beesley high in the air on his way up to the rim. Chukwu blocked the dunk attempt and both players crashed hard to the floor. Syracuse came away with the ball and a Battle layup. Chukwu came away rubbing his knee.

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Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

BEST SIGN

Syracuse looks to be completely healthy as the season begins. Guard Geno Thorpe made his debut after missing the team’s public scrimmage and first preseason game with an ankle injury. Thorpe wasn’t spectacular in his return but he had four steals on defense.

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Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

WORST SIGN

Syracuse’s half-court offense was ineffective against a second straight Division II team. In both exhibition games the Orange has had to turn to a full-court press in order to spark some scoring. That will become much more dangerous as the competition increases.

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BEST EFFORT

With 11:12 left in the shot clock, the student section’s fake shot clock countdown worked to perfection as Southern Connecticut State University calmly passed the ball around with 2 seconds left and ultimately turned it over. That was probably the highlight for the Orange in the first half.

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Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

WORST PLAY

Thorpe tried to drive with 6 minutes left in the first half and, upon finding resistance from a defender, seemed to toss the ball up in the air to no one in particular. It led to a wide-open layup by Southern Connecticut State’s Jerry Luckett, and Thorpe sitting on the SU bench.

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Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

STRANGEST STAT

Southern Connecticut State University led the game 27-12 with 5:26 left in the game before halftime. The Owls eventually wilted once Syracuse pressed and started driving.

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BEST CAMEO

Former Syracuse star John Wallace watched his son, Joey, a starter for Southern Connecticut State University. The Syracuse great watched the game while wearing a SCSU sweatshirt.

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Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

FUNNIEST THING

With Syracuse trailing 27-12 with 4:18 left in the first half, a student in the Syracuse student section began offering suggestions about who might be able to improve the team’s performance. Among the options? Jim Boeheim and Chancellor Kent Syverud. At that point, that assessment was fairly accurate.

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MOST IMPROVED

The preseason is a time for improving and Syracuse’s PA announcer did a much better job with names like Bourama Sidibe and Marek Dolezaj. Unfortunately for Syracuse fans, this award couldn’t go to a member of the team.

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SCARIEST MOMENT

A Syracuse cheerleader fell behind press row doing a stunt midway during the second half and had to be tended to by emergency personnel. She was fitted with a neck brace but appeared to be OK, eventually walking off on her own power to a stretcher.

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