Men’s basketball gets second win behind Judah Mintz and J.J. Starling
Men’s basketball gets win behind, Mintz, Starling
Mintz goes for 26 points, Starling adds seven assists as the Orange’s primary distributor in the win over Canisius.
It wasn’t pretty, but they got the job done.
Syracuse men’s basketball beat Canisius 89-77, starting the season off 2-0. The Orange struggled to implement head coach Adrian Autry’s fast-paced style of play and let the visitors stay competitive for much of the game.
Sophomore guard J.J. Starling started out hot, getting an and-one layup just 20 seconds into the game. A departure from their previous games, Syracuse utilized Starling as the primary distributor early. After six minutes, he had four assists.
“I’m always looking to make plays for my teammates; just like everybody wants me to get going, I want them to get going,” Starling said. He finished the game with seven assists and was crucial to SU’s offensive schemes.
Starling’s backcourt partner, sophomore guard Judah Mintz began the game slowly – not scoring until eight minutes had passed. Mintz was inefficient getting to the free throw line for the whole first half – though that did not stop him from repeatedly driving to the basket and finding contact.
By the second half, Mintz found the calls he was looking for.
A four-point-play kickstarted his second half, and soon after, Mintz once again finished through contact to get another and-one.
“I was just taking what the defense was giving me,” Mintz said.
The guard finished with a career-high 26 points, eight of them coming from the charity stripe. On defense, he continued to be solid. Mintz’s defensive production led to offensive output, with one occasion coming with about seven minutes left in the first half.
Mintz stole the ball, found Starling down the court, and after lulling the Golden Griffin defense into a false respite, received the ball back from Starling and knocked down his first three of the night. His emphatic block two minutes into the second half ignited a Dome crowd that had been dormant after halftime.
Still, SU played a familiar, Boeheim-esque style of offense for much of the game. The Orange finished with just 14 fastbreak points, often taking their possessions late into the shot clock.
“We started out a little flat today,” Autry said of the performance.
The lackadaisical offensive tempo forced Syracuse to settle from the three-point line all too often. SU finished 7-of-19 from deep, slightly improving on its slow start to start the season. The sophomore trio of Mintz, guard Justin Taylor and forward Chris Bell led the Orange’s attack from behind the arc with two makes each.
The frontcourt duo of Bell and Taylor has been important for SU so far in the season, with Taylor playing the small forward position in the absence of junior forward Benny Williams, who remains out due to a team-enforced suspension. The combination also allows Syracuse to space the floor.
“Filling that four-spot has been big for me, just trying to rebound the ball more,” Taylor said. “Playing with a smaller lineup… we’re gonna shoot the ball more.”
With the 6-foot-6 Taylor at forward, Syracuse put forth a shorter lineup than what most fans are used to. It fell on junior center Naheem McLeod to add height.
After a 12-0 run put Syracuse up 66-46 with ten minutes left in the game, the Orange switched their attack to the paint.
Dominant in the paint on both sides of the court, McLeod finished with seven points, five blocks, and nine rebounds – six of those coming off the offensive glass. When McLeod was off the court, Canisius found more success on the interior.
While not the most dominant game, Syracuse never gave up the lead. The Orange will have to tighten up their three-point defense in future contests, as Canisius shot close to 50% from behind the arc.
The team is still learning how to play without one of the most notable coaches in men’s college hoops history. However, with one of the youngest teams in the ACC and a promising head coach, Syracuse basketball is just getting started.
The Orange continue their in-state slate of opponents when they play Colgate next Tuesday at the JMA Wireless Dome. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
is a sports reporter for The NewsHouse.
is a photographer for The NewsHouse.