Chris Bell’s career-high 30 points lifts Syracuse to 94-92 win over Louisville

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For Chris Bell, it isn’t about the type of shot. Allow an open catch-and-shoot or pressure him into a hesitation pull-up and he’s comfortable. There’s a favorite spot, though.

“The left wing,” Bell said.

Darting past Tre White’s careless close-out before side-stepping, Bell drained a 3 to give Syracuse a 91-87 lead with 38.5 seconds to play. But the make was slightly removed from his preferred position — tucked closer into the corner.

Correction: It doesn’t matter where, when or how, Bell capitalizes on any look.

Hitting eight 3-pointers Wednesday culminated in his most dazzling offensive display yet. In Syracuse’s (15-8, 6-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) 94-92 win over Louisville (7-16, 2-10 ACC), Bell notched a career-high 30 points, six rebounds and pulled off a crucial chase-down block on U-of-L star Skyy Clark to help secure victory. Though Clark later tied the game up at 92-92 on a circus right-wing 3 — one he deemed “pure luck” — SU stole advantage after Quadir Copeland drew a goaltending call on the ensuing possession. Then, the Cardinals missed at the buzzer.

“It wasn’t perfect but this is more about these guys not giving up and just pulling out a win,” Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry said.

Bell hasn’t been the picture of consistency this season. He comes off consecutive single-digit games on woeful 0-for-7 combined 3-point shooting at Boston College and Wake Forest. Yet, when he’s excelled, so have the Orange. Bell’s previous career-best of 25 fueled a mighty 24-point comeback win against Colgate on Nov. 14, 2023. He recorded 20 in a victory over LSU and 13 on 50% shooting from 3 versus NC State. His long wingspan and high release point render most opposition defenders helpless.

“He’s one of the best shooters I’ve ever seen in my life,” Copeland said. “So for him to be 6-foot-8 and shoot like that, no matter how he catches the ball, no matter what moves he’s doing… I can never complain about Chris Bell.”

Receiving a quick dart pass from J.J. Starling in the left corner, Bell canned his first 3 to chip into an early 9-2 deficit — the product of three turnovers on SU’s opening four possessions. A minute before halftime, his exuberant confidence got the best of him. Streaking down the left sideline — with well over 20 seconds on the shot clock — Bell hoisted and swished a pull-up 3 over White for his 18th point.

When Judah Mintz, the Orange’s top scorer, was slow to find an offensive rhythm, Bell filled the void by producing two-fold. The performance arrived at a difficult time for Autry’s program, making it all the more heroic. Five days ago, an embarrassing 29-point loss in Winston-Salem — SU’s fourth 20-plus point defeat during the 2023-24 campaign — triggered Autry to apologize postgame. Three days later, junior forward Benny Williams was dismissed due to undisclosed reasons — a situation that prompted clear displeasure from Syracuse’s players and spurred murmurs of potential fragmentation. That’s why Autry labeled this win as “emotional.”

“I’m truly proud of my team today because these last couple of days have been emotional… not only on players but on staff,” Autry said. “I give those guys all the credit. It wasn’t pretty… but this game was about our guys rallying together.”

And rally it did. Trading back-and-forth punches with Louisville well into the second half, Syracuse began scoring in various ways. Mintz and Copeland converted acrobatic layups or drew frequent trips to the charity stripe — where the Orange went 22-for-33. Starling contributed two 3-pointers and well-timed runners while Maliq Brown registered an efficient, all-around showing and finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, five assists and five steals.

Defensively, due to the Cardinals’ harrowing outside shooting and heavy reliance on inside scoring, Autry opted to play the entire opening half in the notorious 2-3 zone set. When U-of-L went into the break boasting a 58.06% shooting clip, Syracuse shifted back to man defense sporadically.

Clark, who didn’t start for the first time this season, found his groove toward the tail end. He connected on a couple of mid-range jumpers then splashed a right-corner 3, giving Louisville a 76-72 advantage. Clark was the first to pounce on a loose ball, forced by skin-tight defense from Ty-Laur Johnson, before going coast-to-coast for a two-handed stuff. Clark scored a team-high 23.

At times, the Orange have distinctly surrendered when trapped in tough situations. Lackadaisical transition defense and stagnant offense usually poke through amid opposition scoring runs. The body language withers and empty possessions pile up. But that didn’t happen Wednesday.

Pump-faking, pivoting and squirming to free himself on the right wing, Mintz tossed to Bell. The forward jab-stepped once then let fly a go-ahead attempt with both sides knotted at 81-81. The basket bulged and Bell climbed to 27 points — a then-new career high.

“Just always be ready,” Bell said. “That’s what the coaches always tell me… Always stay ready. And I think I did a good job of that tonight.”

Lounging in a foldaway chair wearing a pink hoodie postgame, Bell acknowledged he will miss shots. He’s not perfect, only human. But what he did display was a short memory and refusal to focus on what went wrong at Wake Forest or any prior shortcoming. Bell got over it and moved on: The mindset necessary for him to reach 30 and pull off that “game-changing” block, as Autry put it.

“Whenever he’s shooting the ball I know it’s going in,” Copeland said. “Every time Chris shoots I’m doing a celebration already when the ball’s in the air.”