Syracuse overcomes sluggish start to take down Monmouth, 86-71

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It was never supposed to be close — Syracuse riding a three-game win streak, Monmouth losers in nine of its 10 games and the worst team on the Orange’s schedule. But for 30 of 40 minutes, it was.

SU got out to a slow start, going back-and-forth with Monmouth, even trailing as late as the 15:27 mark of the second half. Then Judah Mintz hit a jumper, Benny Williams converted on a four-point play and Syracuse never looked back, holding a double-digit lead for the remaining 10 minutes and winning 86-71.

The box score will indicate this was a comfortable SU win. That it wasn’t. In fact, it was nearly the Orange’s worst loss of the KenPom era (dating back to 2002), the closest comparable one coming in December 2016 at St. John’s, which was ranked No. 211. Entering Monday, Monmouth was KenPom’s 327th-best team — or 31st-worst. However you slice it, Monday’s performance was not a good one for SU, even if it resulted in a fourth straight win.

Syracuse allowed 40 first-half points, “lucky” to be ahead by two at halftime, Jim Boeheim said. His message at halftime was to fight more on defense, Joe Girard III said. It worked — the script flipping with the Hawks shooting 25% from 3 in the second half and getting outscored by 13. SU pulled away with a 15-4 run that began with Mintz’s and Williams’ scores, included eight missed Monmouth (1-10) shots and 10 Syracuse (7-4, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) free throw makes, and ended with a comfortable cushion. Girard continued to shine, notching 16 points, and Mintz recorded a career-high 24. Williams, Maliq Brown and Jesse Edwards also finished in double figures. But the slow start still had players scratching their heads postgame.

“To be honest, (for) some players, it’s hard to get up for these games,” Williams said. “Monmouth’s 1-9, players coming into this game thinking we’re just going to go by them, and it’s going to be an easy win. But sometimes it’s not like that, we got to fight for it.”

Fight indeed — coming in, it didn’t seem like Syracuse would have to do much of that. The Hawks have gotten off to a putrid start this season, and lost by 37 against Princeton on Saturday. But that same team got out to an early 10-5 lead after Jack Collins drilled two 3s from the left side of the arc. The Orange got back in it, but neither side led by more than five in the first half.

Collins was the Hawks’ spark, converting a transition layup and 3 from the right wing in quick succession. The guard, who averages just 10 points per game, totaled 16 on four 3s, with six minutes still remaining in the first half. Monmouth as a team shoots 28.8% from 3-point range, one of the worst marks in the country, but hit 6-of-11 in the first half.

“(Collins is) the one guy that can really shoot it and we left him open. I thought that was smart,” Boeheim said sarcastically.

That changed after halftime, though. Collins was held to four points, and the Hawks couldn’t find the same openings. Boeheim attributed the improved defense to better positioning and intensity, and Mintz said Syracuse made better rotations after being “lazy” in the first half.

“If we had done what we did in the second half in the first half it would’ve been a completely different game and a completely different mood right now,” Girard said postgame in SU’s locker room.

Edwards’ lack of first-half production didn’t help, either. The ACC’s rebounding and shot blocks leader — and Syracuse’s scoring leader — was held to five first-half points, days after drawing Patrick Ewing comparisons from the coach himself after a dominant performance Saturday. Monday, Monmouth didn’t allow Edwards to gain easy position or back down into the paint. SU, particularly Edwards, is better against less physical teams like Notre Dame and Georgetown, Boeheim said.

Without Edwards’ usual production, Syracuse did get a boost from its wings. Boeheim moved Williams to the small forward position so Brown could get more minutes Monday. Brown took advantage of the opportunity, totaling 11 points and seven rebounds, his second time in double digits this season. On one play, Myles Foster turned it over trying to spin, and Mintz picked the ball up the court, took a couple dribbles and lobbed to a streaking Brown for a two-handed dunk. Syracuse led 26-21 after the dunk, which forced a Monmouth timeout. Brown forced another one midway through the second half when he cut down the lane and dunked it off Edwards’ feed.

Williams showcased his offensive abilities, too, converting a putback and-one layup off and drew a foul while hitting a 3 off an inbounds pass. His six points gave Syracuse a five-point advantage with 12 minutes left. Two mid range jumpers made that a 16-point advantage several minutes later. Williams got off to a slow start this season, averaging six points through the first eight games, but has now bumped that number to 12 over his last three.

SU also started getting to the line more after generating nine foul shots in the first half. They got 19 in the second, making 16 of them. Monmouth, on the other side, had 10 attempts total. Mintz’s strong driving ability set up several foul-line trips, and his four steals (which tied a game-high) set up other after transition opportunities. A 78% free throw shooter on the season, Mintz shot 11-for-12 on Monday.

And Girard was still a threat, the guard continuing his hot shooting by posting at least 15 points for the fourth consecutive game. He looked confident creating his own shot, and used a lethal pump fake to send defenders flying, just needing one dribble to step into his shot.

“Our guards were really, really good,” Boeheim said. “They were the difference in the game tonight.”

Syracuse, unpredictably, needed that from Mintz and Girard because of the sluggish first half. It was overall a disappointing showing, Boeheim said, since SU had a good practice yesterday. He told his team postgame they need the next three days of practice. The goal? “Get better. A lot better,” the coach said. There’s a four-game win streak, and the signs of an identity for this team are slowly emerging. But there’s still plenty of work to do.

“We’re not winning playing basketball like this,” Boeheim said.