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Nothing seemed unusual when Adrian Autry stepped to the podium following Syracuse’s second straight razor-thin win to start the season. What followed was an out-of-character, impassioned rant from the second-year head coach.

His opening statement lasted three minutes and 20 seconds before fielding a question. The typically stoic and soft-spoken Autry had an extra fight to him. He lamented his team for poor transition defense, a department where the Orange allowed 22 points.

Yet he covered them from criticism, saying it’s implementing a brand of basketball SU has never played before — a fast-paced run-and-gun style. Autry said that SU is averaging 20 more possessions than it usually does and playing faster than ever.

All of Autry’s concerns and praises were valid. Though it seemed on-brand based on its early-season performances. The Orange have let two sub-par teams hang around, while they search for a true identity with multiple new pieces.

“It’s a new team,” Autry said postgame. “We are still trying to figure things out.”

Syracuse (2-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) once again survived by the skin of its teeth, holding on to defeat Colgate (1-2, 0-0 Patriot League) 74-72 Tuesday. In a game eerily reminiscent of its opening-night victory over Le Moyne, the Orange held their breath until the end.

SU had every chance to ice the game late. Though three straight missed free throws afforded the Raiders a last-second chance at a game-winner. Colgate failed to get a shot off.

Syracuse and Colgate are no strangers to each other. The two have amassed 175 meetings and the Orange won 54 straight times from 1962-2020. The rivalry has changed in recent years. Colgate dropped 100 points on SU in 2021, to break its losing streak to the Orange.

The following season, Syracuse faltered again, allowing 18 3-pointers. The Orange were on their way to a third straight defeat in 2023 before storming back from a 24-point second-half deficit. Tuesday was no different.

“Coming into this game, we knew this was going to be a tough game,” Autry said. “Forget about the people that they lost. (Matt Langel) has a winning program, and so that was a game that we expected to have.”

The Raiders pushed SU down to the wire. Four straight points from Nicolas Louis-Jacques cut a once-double-digit Syracuse lead to 72-70 with 2:17 remaining. J.J. Starling soon fouled out 45 seconds later on Syracuse’s next defensive possession. Colgate center Jeff Woodward scored inside to tie the game 72-72. It was the first tie of the second half.

Eddie Lampkin Jr.— who led SU with 15 points — immediately responded with a tough bucket in the paint. Lampkin’s field goal with 46 seconds left ended up being the difference, but it didn’t come without some chaos.

Louis-Jacques missed a wide-open 3 which would’ve put Colgate ahead. Jyare Davis hauled in the defensive rebound with a chance to ice the game at the free-throw line but the forward missed the front end of a one-and-one. Colgate then got the ball in the hands of Jalen Cox.

The point guard tormented Syracuse throughout the second half with his downhill drives. He scored 15 of his game-high 21 points after the break. He received a screen from Woodward and pulled up for a mid-range jumper, which bounced off the back heel. Davis hauled in another key rebound and proceeded to miss his second straight free throw. Luckily for him, Lucas Taylor beat everyone to the ball and was fouled with five seconds left.

Even Taylor — a career 77.8% shooter from the line — missed. Colgate came the other way with Cox passing ahead to Louis-Jacques. However, he stumbled as time expired, allowing SU to exhale.

“It definitely would have stung a little more if they were, to make a shot or something like that,” Davis said of his missed free throws. “I could look back and see all the free throws I missed, but I’m really just happy my teammates picked me up. We got a win.”

It didn’t have to be that way for Syracuse. The Orange led 49-36 with 16:15 remaining in the second half. Following a hotly contested first period where SU’s biggest lead was seven, it finally got some separation. A 13-3 run where Colgate shot 3-for-13 from the field looked to be the beginning of the end for the Raiders.

It seemed like Syracuse learned from its near-disastrous game against Le Moyne last Tuesday. The Orange got out to a sluggish start against the Dolphins, seemingly sleepwalking through the first 20 minutes and trailing by five. Eventually, SU woke up and extended its lead to eight with four-and-a-half minutes left, but had to hold on with a last-second defensive stop by Chris Bell.

Sound familiar? That’s because it was a similar formula against Colgate. Poor shot selection, sloppy turnovers and lazy transition defense allowed the Raiders to creep back in. The Orange got complacent and it nearly cost them again.

“When we go up 13, it has to go from 13 up to 19 and not down to four. I think we got to do a better job of keeping our foot on their necks,” SU point guard Jaquan Carlos said.

A 12-2 run, boosted by three of Colgate’s 10 total 3-pointers on the night, cut SU’s lead to two with 11:23 remaining. From there, the Orange never led by more than six but still managed to hang on.

Autry is still trying to find the right balance within his team. The Orange played a six-man rotation at times during conference play last season. On Tuesday, eight different players logged at least 10 minutes.

The difference to Autry is the more youthful teams gelled quicker because they had more time together. As much as Autry can tinker with lineups, he won’t be afforded the same margin of error. These mental lapses won’t fly during nonconference challenges against Tennessee, Texas and Maryland.

Yes, Colgate is the four-time reigning Patriot League champion. But for a historic program like Syracuse, the expectations are higher. In year two under Autry, the Orange have aspirations to make the NCAA Tournament and end their three-year drought. For now, Autry remains satisfied with the zero in the loss column through two games. No matter how ugly it had to be.

“I’m happy that we were able to pull out a game, two tough games, and that’s going to help us as we go down the line,” Autry said. “The team had complete composure, they never were rattled. We came in and we did what we were supposed to do.”

Published on November 12, 2024 at 9:16 pm

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