SU can’t keep up with Duke in second half onslaught

Syracuse men’s basketball can take solace in the fact that its 86-66 loss to Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Tuesday night wasn’t as bad as the final score indicated.

The Orange trailed 35-33 at the half and kept it close throughout the first few minutes of the second half.

But the Blue Devils, who failed to make anything from the perimeter in the first 20 minutes, came to life. Duke didn’t miss any of the eight 3-pointers it attempted in the second half, and pulled away from the Orange.

Syracuse didn’t necessarily play poorly, but it did get beat by a better team. A resume-building win will have to wait.

Here are three takeaways from the loss:

Brown’s breakout

Syracuse sophomore forward Maliq Brown put up what one could reasonably refer to as a masterclass.

Brown dropped a season and career-high 26 points, surpassing his previous best of 15 that he had scored in each of the previous two contests against Niagara and Pittsburgh. He coupled this outburst of scoring with seven rebounds and even knocked down a long ball (his second of the season).

It seems as if Brown has started to blossom for head coach Adrian Autry’s squad, as he looked confident rolling/cutting to the basket, as well as finishing in the interior. 

Duke’s frontcourt depth

The Orange shut down Duke star Kyle Filipowski early, but his replacement came up big.

The star big man (who was averaging nearly 19 points a game coming into Tuesday’s contest) recorded a pair of early fouls which sent him to the bench. Unfortunately for the Orange faithful, Mark Mitchell did more than his share, filling in for his big man friend. The 6-9 Sophomore forward put up 18 points in the first half alone, and would eventually finish with a career-high 21 in the victory.

Mintz tracker

Syracuse sophomore guard Judah Mintz struggled from the field, shooting 5-14 on the night, but impressed with his ability to get to the line, shooting 8-9 from the free throw stripe. The sophomore tallied 18 points while adding four rebounds, six assists, and three steals for the Orange. 

Mintz and Brown were the only two SU players to score in double-figures. Sophomore guard J.J. Starling was the next-leading contributor with nine points.

The Orange will have more than a week to regroup before hosting Boston College on Jan. 10 at 9 p.m.