Syracuse men’s basketball snaps two-game losing streak, takes down Colgate

Syracuse broke their two-game losing streak last night after facing Colgate at the Carrier Dome. The Orange were able to hold off the Raiders and snag a 77-56 win.

Here are five takeaways from the matchup.

Frank Howard is back

Senior point guard Frank Howard suffered an ankle injury during the pre-season but made his season debut as a starter. Since Howard’s injury, junior guard Tyus Battle has taken the place as point guard. Battle, who is typically a leading scorer for the Orange, hasn’t been able to attack the bucket as much this season due to the position switch.

With Howard back, Battle had a season-high 24 points. Howard, who played 19 minutes, went 1-5 in shooting, but snagged two boards, five assists and three steals. Having Howard back is going to be vital for the Orange this season.

This wasn’t an easy battle

In the first half of the game, the teams were scoring back-to-back shots, often tying the score. In fact, in the first half alone, the teams tied the score seven different times. While the Orange trailed in most of the first half, they ended the first 20 minutes with a 35-32 lead.

About five minutes into the second half, redshirt junior forward Elijah Hughes hit a three that would put Syracuse up, 46-43, and the Raiders wouldn’t take the lead again. The Orange contained Colgate to only 13 more points in the last 14 minutes of the game, while Syracuse would go on to score 31 more.

Defense, defense, defense

The Orange played incredible defense last night, gaining 13 steals, three blocks and 28 defensive rebounds. Not only that, but Syracuse only had nine turnovers — their lowest number of turnovers so far this season (including pre-season exhibition games).

One can’t help but think with Howard back, the team is starting to mesh the way it was meant to. Hopefully the Orange can stay healthy this season and continue to outlast their opponents.

Bourama Sidibe played very well

Sophomore forward Bourama Sidibe only had seven total rebounds in the 2K Empire Classic Tournament games against UConn and Oregon, and he only scored a total of three points.

Against Colgate, went 3-5 in field goal attempts and scored a total of 11 points. He also pulled down 10 rebounds, in addition to his one assist, one block and three steals.

If the 6-foot-10-inch Sidibe can keep those stats up this season, the Orange can be unbeatable.

Four SU players scored in double digits

Battle, Sidibe, Oshae Brissett and Hughes each scored in double digits in the matchup against Colgate. Sophomore forward Brissett and Hughes each put 17 points on the scoreboard.

So far this season, both Hughes and Brissett average 14.8 points per game. The two of them have been scoring leaders for the Orange so far this season and hopefully will continue to do so.