Orange cruise past Slippery Rock and extends exhibition streak
Orange cruise past Slippery Rock and extends exhibition streak
In their final preseason tune-up, Syracuse Men’s Basketball dominated Slippery Rock University 96-51, securing their 29th consecutive exhibition victory with a commanding performance.
Syracuse Men’s Basketball finished their preseason with an exhibition matchup against Division II opponent Slippery Rock University.
It was smooth sailing for the Orange, who crushed the Rock 96-51, achieving their 29th straight exhibition game victory.
Syracuse fired an utter barrage from three at Slippery Rock, taking plenty more shots from three than last season.
They attempted the three-ball on average 20 times last year, nearly meeting that mark at halftime with 17. In all, they took 32 and made 47% of them.
“We got guys that shoot at a high level,” Syracuse Men’s coach Adrian Autry said about the team’s performance from deep. “There’s still one guy that’s still not shooting at the level we think he can right now, and that’s Lucas.”
Senior Lucas Taylor scored nine points on nine shots, marking 1-3 from deep.
Forward Chris Bell led the Orange from range. The Junior looked sharp, knocking down shots from deep that the Orange could not hit consistently last year. He finished going 5-8 from three and led the team in scoring with 17.
Second and third in scoring were Orange Freshmen Donnie Freeman and Elijah Moore. Both players contributed to an excellent first exhibition versus Clarion.
Freeman was proficiently getting to the line, his aggression leading to four trips to the line and 11 points total. The minutes of the D.C. native came in just the first half, not touching the court after the first 20 minutes of play.
Moore only hit three-pointers, nailing four and accumulating 12 points. The Freshman has been lethal from the range so far in the exhibition.
On the other side of the coin, Freshman Peter Majstorovic struggled down low. The European prospect scored three points on three free throws as well as finding himself in foul trouble. He collected four in total and shot just once in the entire game.
Syracuse will begin their 152nd campaign against Le Moyne. Additionally, it will mark the Dolphins’ first game as a Division I Men’s Basketball program.
“I’m sure everyone will be excited about that game,” Autry said when asked about the importance of this game to the community, “Any time you get a chance to play these local teams, I think it’s big.”
Syracuse’s season opener will tip off at seven on Monday at the dome.
is a contributor for The NewsHouse.
is a contributor to The NewsHouse.