Joe Girard records career-high to lead Syracuse past Richmond in overtime

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BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Joe Girard III came off of a Mounir Hima screen, losing his immediate defender after crossing the ball over from right to left at the top of the key. The quick move was enough to earn himself a little breathing room from Richmond’s Tyler Burton.

Girard hit the pull-up jumper from outside the arc to put Syracuse up by seven with a little under two minutes to go in the first half. Girard pumped his fist and yelled before high-fiving Judah Mintz and positioning himself back at the top of SU’s two-three zone. 

The made basket gave Girard his 21st point of the night, tying his season-high previously set against Northeastern just two days prior.

“When Joe hits shots there’s not much you can do about it,” Mintz said. “It’s easy to feed off of his energy and today he came up big.”

Fueled by Girard’s offense, Syracuse (4-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) defeated Richmond (2-3, 0-0 Atlantic 10) on Monday night in overtime, 74-71, at the Barclays Center. By the end of the game, Girard put up 31 points — a career high. Girard’s offensive explosion in the first half was responsible for 61% of SU’s 34 points and saw them enter the half with a five point lead. But as Girard slowed down in the second half, the Spiders came back and sent the game to overtime. At that point, Mintz took control of the game and led the Orange to a victory.

“It was a good win but there’s a lot we can learn from,” head coach Jim Boeheim said.

The Orange jumped out to an early 10-2 lead, half of which came from Girard. On the defensive side, Syracuse continued to run an extremely extended 2-3 zone and were able to keep the ball out of the middle, forcing the Spiders into tough, contested shots. Trapping in the corners translated into 10 steals for SU.

Early on, Girard went on an offensive tear, hitting from anywhere and everywhere on the floor. Just four minutes into the game, Girard brought the ball up the court facing Richmond point guard, Jason Nelson. Girard motioned at Jesse Edwards to come set a screen and Edwards headed to his aid. But, instead of using Edwards to get deeper into Spider territory, Girard rejected the screen, crossing over to his left and straight into a shot. He canned the three-point jumper to put Syracuse up by eight and trotted back down the floor.

“Shooting is what he does. If he has even an inch of space, I don’t mind him shooting that,” Edwards said. “It’s nothing new, that’s Joe.”

While Girard extended Syracuse’s lead behind the arc, his backcourt running mate created his imprint on the game through gritty defense. Off of a Syracuse steal, Mintz gained control of the ball and immediately headed down the middle of the court. Burton picked him up on defense. Mintz accelerated then crossed the ball over from right to left behind his back. Burton stumbled and lost his footing as Mintz continued to penetrate. Practically uncontested near the basket, he put up a soft floater that nestled into the basket to extend the Orange lead. 

Sharpshooting from the three-point arc kept Richmond competitive despite falling behind early due to occasional offensive miscues that translated into turnovers. The Spiders never seemed to waver and gained their first lead of the game toward the latter half of the contest.

Although the Spiders got off to a sluggish start, they weren’t fazed. Pin-point shooting from Jason Roche and Burton helped Richmond get back into the contest and with five minutes left in the half, they were only trailing Syracuse by two.

At the start of the second half, the Spiders really started to take control. Nelson, who went scoreless in the first half, hit two consecutive threes and tacked on one more just a few possessions after to put Richmond up by one, 47-46. From there on, the largest lead either team could construct was just three before the contest ultimately went into overtime. 

It seemed that Richmond’s success was synonymous with Girard’s cold opening to the second half of play. After equaling his season-high from a game ago in half the allotted time, he went scoreless for the first seven minutes after the break, missing three shots from range before he glided to the hoop for a deuce with around 12 minutes remaining in the game.

However, after a few more minutes to adjust to the Spiders’ increased concentration on limiting his offensive production, Girard got back into his groove.

Turning his back toward Richmond’s Dji Bailey near halfcourt, Girard took several pound dribbles keeping Bailey away. Seven and a half minutes remained in the game. Edwards came to set a screen and Girard used it, curling in front of his teammate, However, he was met by Neil Quinn.

Stuck in a packed space near the top of the arc, Girard retreated, still keeping his dribble, as the shot clock ran down. By now, Bailey had reassumed his position in front of Girard. Then, suddenly, without hesitation, Girard pulled up several steps behind the 3-point line on the right wing. His attempt fell to increase his game total to 26 points.

“It was awesome,” Girard said. “I had great teammates that got me open.”

Down the stretch, Mintz continued to record deflections on the defensive end and Girard’s confidence on the offensive end helped Syracuse find their go-to-guy.

During its final offensive possession in regular time, Richmond turned the ball overlooking for Neil Quinn. Mintz collected the ball and stormed down the court looking for any sort of space. In the waning seconds, he awkwardly dumped the ball down to Edwards positioned directly under the hoop. But time expired, sending the game into overtime knotted at 63 apiece.

Once the extra period began, Mintz took over. Leading by two with just over a minute left, he bided his time, and calmly dribbled toward the right wing all the while keeping one eye on the clock. Mintz waited for an Edwards screen, used it, then forced his way to the short corner. He pumped faked once, and fired a jumper off the glass, over Nelson. His attempt banked in to put Syracuse up by four with 57 seconds remaining.

On the ensuing possession, Richmond totaled five offensive boards, all of which resulted in missed attempts to put the ball in the basket. The Spiders missed five 3-point attempts. After missing their fourth consecutive from downtown, Nelson tried a layup inside but Edwards swatted his shot out toward Burton.

Burton’s final attempt careened off the top of the backboard and out to give Syracuse possession with eight seconds remaining. While Mintz secured the win for the Orange, Girard made a singular free throw in the extra period, acknowledging the need to play more consistently.

“I’ve got to play more of a complete game,” Girard said about his performance. “I gotta get better, play the second half, in overtime, especially in a game like tonight and just make sure that I’m playing all 40 minutes instead of just the 20.”