Syracuse hoops fall to Bryant on game-winning shot
SU hoops fall to Bryant on final shot
Syracuse basketball fell to Bryant 73-72 on a game-winning shot by Sherif Gross-Bullock. The loss marks the Orange’s third, bringing their record to .500 to start the season.
Syracuse freshman guard Judah Mintz came out aggressive to start off the game. He took seven shots in the nine minutes that he played. He was aggressive driving to the basket and had three free throws.
With 7:35 remaining in the first half, Mintz was called for a charge. After the charge was called Bryant guard and St. Peter’s transfer Doug Edert pushed Mintz. Mintz then slapped Edert on the side of his face. Edert retaliated by slapping Mintz from behind on the side of his head.
That’s when chaos ensued.
Syracuse forward John Bol Ajak saw Edert’s slap and went after him. Several Bryant and Syracuse players started getting in each other’s faces. A couple of Bryant players and assistant coaches from both teams left their benches.
After a lengthy review by the referees, they gave double technicals to Edert and Mintz and ejected them from the game. In addition, Bryant players Kvonn Cramer and Tyler Brelsford were ejected for leaving the bench.
SU assistant coaches Adrian Autry, Allen Griffin and SU director of basketball operations Pete Corasanti also left their bench and were ejected. Bryant assistant coaches Phil Martelli Jr. and Chris Cole were ejected as well.
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim thought that Mintz needed to hold his composure.
“Judah got pushed and he swung, you can’t do that,” Coach Boeheim said. “You have to learn. It’s a hard way to learn, but that’s the way it is. You just can’t react in that situation. It was a lot of pushing and holding early, they weren’t calling it. You have to be able to play your way through that.”
We got a slap off in Cuse-Bryant! pic.twitter.com/YAzbOm5lBS
— Jared Kotler (@JaredKotler) November 26, 2022
Bryant led Syracuse 40-29 going into halftime. The Orange struggled shooting from three going 3-10 and shooting 9-29 overall. But in the second half, Syracuse turned the game around.
Freshman guard Justin Taylor was one of the main spark plugs for the second half. He finished the game with 25 points on 6-9 shooting. He hit a three-point shot with 4:16 left in the game to make it a one-point game with Syracuse down 60-59.
With 50 seconds left, Taylor hit three free throws to take the lead 69-67. Fast forward to 20 seconds on the clock, Taylor had a chance to tie the game at 71 apiece, but he missed his second free throw.
Coach Boheim attributed Taylor’s hot shooting to the attention the other SU players got defensively.
“They’re guarding Joe [Girard III] and they’re doubling, tripling Jesse [Edwards],” Boeheim said.
Syracuse's Justin Taylor (5) fades away to release a shot over Bryant's Antwan Walker/ Taylor scored a game-high 25 points to pace the orange.
Syracuse's John Bol Ajak (2) tries to wrestle the ball away from Bryant's Antwan Walker.
Center Jesse Edwards also came alive in the second half. After only tallying one point at the half he finished with 12 points on 5-9 shooting. He also finished with a career-high 21 rebounds, 13 of which were defensive.
Guard Joseph Girard III once again had a cold night. He shot 1-8 from three and 1-12 from the field overall. He finished the game with just five points. He did however come through when the team needed him most, making two free throws with eight seconds left in the game putting Syracuse up 73-72.
In the end it didn’t matter because Bryant’s Gross Bullock hit a running floater with 0.8 seconds left that ultimately won Bryant the game.
Syracuse will look to bounce back when they play No. 16 Illinois on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
is a broadcast and digital journalism graduate student and contributor for The NewsHouse.
is a photographer for The NewsHouse.
