Syracuse basketball cruises to victory in first exhibition game of the year

The Syracuse Orange Men’s Basketball squad kicked-off the 2024-2025 campaign in an exhibition match against the Division II Clarion Golden Eagles in the JMA Wireless Dome. 

Everything went just according to plan for Syracuse as they picked up a 101-73 dominant victory.

“We shared the ball,” Syracuse men’s coach Adrian Autry said. “We got to use these next few days to get ready.”

Syracuse showed off their offensive ability, and it came from multiple sources.

Jaquan Carlos led the way on both sides of the ball, posting a 14 point-10 assist double-double, and grabbing 3 steals on defense. 

“Me and him have a good relationship off the court,” Eddie Lampkin Jr. said about his new point guard. “We always trust each other and don’t turn the ball over.”

Lampkin and Carlos connected on multiple occasions in the contest, both showing off their playmaking expertise.

Other major performances came from returning starters J.J. Starling and Chris Bell, who combined for 33 points while shooting 7-13 from behind the arc. 

Photo by Sadie Jones

Syracuse University’s Jaquan Carlos pushes towards the net through Clarion’s defense.

“Everybody had good looks”, said Bell, who shot 42% from three last season.

“If you have an open look, take it.”

Freshmen Donnie Freeman and Elijah Moore also shined in their Syracuse debuts.

Moore hit two threes and had three assists, helping the team shoot 12-34 from 3 in the game.

Freeman really impressed, using his 6’9” frame to knock down fading mid-range shots and grab big rebounds this team wasn’t able to last season. 

“Rebounds get me going”, Freeman said about how the team’s pace allowed their offense to flow. “It can help the team move fast in transition.”

The forward finished the day with 16 points, and tied Lampkin with the team leading 7 rebounds. 

“He can impact the game on both ends of the floor”, coach Autry said about Freeman. “We need a lot from him.”

Being an exhibition game, Autry experimented with different lineups throughout the game. 

Photo by Sadie Jones

Adrian Autry begins his second season as Syracuse head coach during the exhibition game against Clarion.

The starting lineup consisted of Carlos, Starling, senior Lucas Taylor, freshman forward Petar Majstorovic and Lampkin. 

“The last couple of days, they really gelled”, Autry said about the unit that got the starting nod. “I wanted to play with [the rotations] a little bit.”

The lineup flexibility opened up the bench significantly, but a few still didn’t see the court all that much. 

Guard Chance Westry didn’t see any time on the floor, but Autry confirmed that was all precautionary and that should change by their season opener if not sooner.

“I think Chance will be ready to go by next week”, Autry said on how Westry is feeling. “We’re excited to get him back.”

Another player who saw limited action was 7’4” center Naheem McLeod, who played five minutes towards the back-end of the second half. 

“I want to get him to the season”, Autry said on easing McLeod and what he saw from him. “He really gave us some good minutes.”

In those five minutes, McLeod had six points, including knocking down both of his free throws. 

The team as a whole struggled from the charity strike, shooting 11-18. The 61% average on the day is well below Syracuse’s 72% mark last season. 

Despite this mark, Autry was proud with the offensive performance all around. He looks for improvement on the other side of the ball.

We’ve got a long ways to go on the defensive end”, Autry said. “That’s just not good enough right now.”

Photo by Sadie Jones

Syracuse University basketball players gather around for a team huddle.

Clarion was led by the 22 point performance from Cam Kearney as well as Jere Thomas II, who had 17 points shooting 8-9 from the field. 

The Orange play one more exhibition matchup on Wednesday against Slippery Rock before the season.

Syracuse will begin the second regular season of Autry’s tenure at home against Le Moyne on Monday, November 4th.