Orange escape scare from Wake Forest at home

While Buddy Boeheim leads scorers again, freshman Brycen Goodine puts up winning basket in final 2 seconds of the game.

Story by Maria Trivelpiece / Photos by Hunter Franklin

Published: February 8, 2020

Syracuse guard, Buddy Boeheim, 35, gets ready to pass the ball to his teammates as Wake Forest guard Torry Johnson, 11, tries to block his pass during the first half of a college basketball game on February 8, 2020.

Syracuse defeated Wake Forest 75-73 on Saturday night in the Carrier Dome in a game that saw a lot of fouls, a lot of charity stripe shots, and one big layup by freshman Brycen Goodine.

The Demon Deacons entered the game with the most free throw attempts in the conference (avg 23.2 per game), something that posed a possible threat to an Orange team who struggles to defend the paint and keep their forwards out of foul trouble. And in the first half, the Wake Forest attack played exactly how it was supposed to. Both Bourama Sidibe and Quincy Guerrier recorded three personal fouls.

Syracuse forward Quincy Guerrier, 1, attempts to score a lay up against Wake Forest during the first half of a college basketball game on February 8, 2020.

But Syracuse shot well from the floor to allow the Orange to keep the lead. Buddy Boeheim was 4-for-7 from behind the arc; and despite having to exit the first half early because of foul trouble, Guerrier was 6-for-6 from the floor with 10 points of his own.

Syracuse came out hot in the second half. Elijah Hughes sank two foul shots and a jumper. And, Boeheim, Marek Dolezaj and Sidibe had deuces from the field before the Demon Deacons could even score a bucket in the second half.

Syracuse University's forward Elijah Hughes, 33, drives the ball down the court during the first half of a college basketball game against Wake Forest.

But the Demon Deacons would not go away. Guerrier fouled out and Sidibe committed his fifth foul against Oliver Sarr who made one of two shots at the charity stripe to cut the Orange lead to one.

With just over six minutes to go, it got ugly. Wake Forest took just their second lead of the game as Brandon Childress made two free throws. Dolezaj then received a technical foul, that happened to be his fifth of the game, sending him to the bench along with his two other teammates.

Syracuse went up 73-70 with just over a minute to play, but Ismael Moussoud sunk a deep three to tie the game up. The Orange played for the last shot, but Hughes missed from behind the arc. Brycen Goodine snagged the rebound and put it back up for two points with 1.5 seconds to go to seal the victory for Syracuse.

Head Coach Boeheim said that he was proud of the way his team battled it out in the end. But, he was especially proud of Goodine and other freshmen, Jesse Edwards who stepped up and played well defensively.

Syracuse improves to 7-5 in ACC play and 14-9 overall. Their next game will be at home against NC State on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 7:00 p.m.