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As Lafayette moved the ball around on offense, the ball made its way to the right side of the court. When the Leopards passed the ball into the high post, center Frank Anselem was forced to press forward and vacate the space under the hoop.

Right as Anselem pressed up, Lafayette’s Eric Sondberg made a backdoor cut behind Cole Swider. Sondberg grabbed a pass and appeared to have an easy layup, but in a flash Benny Williams shuffled over and leaped into the air to swat Sondberg’s shot into the stands.

“That’s a momentum changer,” Jesse Edwards said. “If they make that bucket, they’ll get some momentum going, they’ll keep making some buckets, but he stopped that right away.”

In a season-opening 97-63 win over Lafayette, Syracuse (1-0) allowed Lafayette (0-1) to score just 18 points in the paint. A year after allowing Bryant to score 84 points and winning by just a point, the Orange were able to shut down any Lafayette hopes of an upset. Syracuse led for 38 minutes and 38 seconds as the Leopards only shot 34.3% from the floor and 29.3% from beyond the arc.

“Our defense was good. They’re a team that scores a lot of points and can really shoot,” head coach Jim Boeheim said.

With two new transfers, a five-star freshman and a new starter at center, Syracuse’s new-look zone took shape on Tuesday night. Swider and Jimmy Boeheim began on the wings and used their length to close out on Lafayette’s shooters, holding the Leopards to just 12-41 from 3.

Early in the first half, while the Leopards were still close on the scoreboard, Lafayette managed to pass the ball around and found an opening on the right wing. But Swider quickly shuffled over to make the block. The Leopards’ player rose up with Swider’s arm just inches from his face. As the ball traveled toward the net, it hit nothing but air, much to the delight of Syracuse fans in attendance.

Overall, Boeheim said he was happy with the way the zone rotated around to close out on shooters. He noted that most of Lafayette’s offense is played through their guards and shooters rather than down low. But with over half of the Leopards’ points coming from beyond the arc, Boeheim said that 3-point defense will be an area for improvement.

“We left some guys open. We made some mistakes that we can work on, correct,” Boeheim said.

Cole Swider and Jimmy Boeheim began on the wings and used their length to close out on Lafayette’s shooters, holding the Leopards to just 12-41 from 3. Elizabeth Billman | Senior Staff Photographer

Jimmy, after years of hearing his father preach that wings need to close out on shooters, admitted that he was at fault for some of the open 3s that Lafayette managed to create.

“It was me tonight, it was me tonight,” Jimmy said laughing. “It’s pretty crazy, full circle there.”

Jimmy also posted a few minutes at center when Edwards was on the bench and Anselem was briefly injured. It’s something he said that he’s still getting used to but a useful rotation in case Syracuse needs a different look later in the season.

In contrast to last season’s opener against Bryant, where the Bulldogs scored 32 points in the paint, today, the Leopards did not find success down low.

At center, Edwards manned the middle of the zone and swatted away three shots as Syracuse held Lafayette to just 12 points in the paint. Throughout the night, Edwards shuffled around the zone with his arms in the air, ready to challenge any shots.

On one play, the ball found its way into the hands of Lafayette’s Tomas Verbinskis alone in the corner. The shot clock slowly ticking down, Verbinskis rose up for a 3, but Edwards ran over and rose to swat the shot into the stands.

“I knew he was going to shoot it in the corner,” Edwards said. “So I jumped forward and got a good block. It’s really just experience and timing.”

Minutes later, Lafayette’s Tyrone Perry blew past the top of the zone and lifted the ball up for a floater. But before the ball could get any air, Edwards’ hand was there to slap it back to the floor.

Edwards finished with three blocks, more than the team had in total against Bryant last year. By the end of the night, Syracuse’s zone held Lafayette’s top returning scorer Neal Quinn off the scoresheet. The 7-foot forward only managed two shots, missing both.

The defense’s success also had a side effect of helping the Orange dominate the boards on defense. With Lafayette forced to take more shots from the outside, the centers did not win as many defensive rebounds, but the forwards picked up the slack. Swider finished with 12 rebounds, nine on defense. Boeheim said that’s by design.

“In our defense, the shots are going to come from the corners or the sides,” Boeheim said. “So the rebounds are going to come more from the forward position.”

The length and efficiency of the new-look zone played a big role tonight as the centers forced Lafayette to outside shots, and the forwards gathered easy rebounds to send the offense in transitions. The veteran group of Swider, Jimmy and Edwards flashed potential in Syracuse’s zone today, which may bode well for the Orange as the season continues.

“I think it was a really good game in terms of working on our defense, getting our movement down,” Boeheim said.

Published on November 9, 2021 at 9:11 pm

Contact Gaurav: gshetty@syr.edu