Colgate’s 3-point shooting torches Syracuse defense for 2nd straight year
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Colgate torched Syracuse for a season-high 18 3-pointers last season, led by Jack Ferguson and Nelly Cummings, who both finished with six makes from deep. Jim Boeheim said Syracuse had a false sense of security early as Colgate missed its first 12 attempts from beyond the arc.
“When you play a team with that many good perimeter shooters, you got to get there, and we didn’t get there,” Boeheim said after Syracuse’s 100-85 loss to Colgate last season. “You can’t give people that many good looks. You’re not going to win any games.”
Tucker Richardson mostly watched as Cummins and Ferguson controlled the offense, finishing with 11 points. But a year later, with the same strategy, he was the main weapon.
Boeheim’s 1000th official win was spoiled by Colgate’s second-straight win over SU in back-to-back seasons. In Syracuse’s (1-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) 80-68 loss to Colgate (3-1, 0-0 Patriot League), the Raiders one-upped their 3-point total from last season with 19. Boeheim said Colgate has some of the best shooters the Orange will face this season. Richardson finished with 27 points, including seven 3-pointers, while Ryan Moffatt and Oliver Lynch-Daniels added eight more scores from deep.
“Colgate is a lot better than we are right now,” Boeheim said. “Our offense was horrendous, we just got to do a better job with the defense.”
After Benny Williams hit a deep 2 with four minutes left in the first half, Richardson came back fast on the other end, stopping at the top of the key before swinging the ball to the corner. He got it back and quickly let go of the ball, which grazed the back of the rim before falling through.
Joe Girard III got in Richardson’s face the next time he shot the ball, but he was a second late as Richardson drained the shot. For his final shot of the first half, Richardson swung the ball out to the right corner, but stayed at the top of the key again. His fifth 3-pointer of the period fell through the net, and Richardson put three fingers up to his forehead while Boeheim called a timeout.
“We were in it, we had a chance. But we let their best shooter shoot three 3s,” Boeheim said. “That’s something we’ve prided ourselves in not allowing.”
Colgate found the most success against Syracuse’s zone last season, prompting Boeheim to start the game in man-to-man. But Colgate was better against the man-to-man, Boeheim said, so the Orange rotated between both defenses.
After Girard scored from deep, Richardson worked off a screen to free up his own deep heave from the right wing, which fell through the net to tie the game at 5-5. Following a missed layup from Judah Mintz, Richardson found Lynch-Daniels wide open at the top of the key to give Colgate an 8-5 lead, its first of the night.
Against the man-to-man, Lynch-Daniels emerged open again in the left corner at the 12-minute mark with Mintz closing in on him. Lynch-Daniels shot anyways, and the ball clunked off the rim, scraped the top of the backboard and fell in. Syracuse called a timeout after the Raiders next possession resulted in a backdoor cut getting past Mintz.
Boeheim said it’s going to take time for Syracuse’s younger players like Mintz and Quadir Copeland to get more accustomed to the zone. Girard said Colgate posed the biggest issue because of its ability to work 22 to 25 seconds into a possession to find a better shot.
“They’re a smart team and a good passing team,” Girard said. “We all have to get better at it and make sure we know where we need to be.”
The Orange trailed by two after an 8-2 run out of the timeout, but their 3-point defense fell apart again. Lynch-Daniels scored from the same spot as his last make. Then, Chandler Baker hit twice from the corner, evading Copeland and Mounir Hima.
In the second half, another 3-point scorer in Ryan Moffatt emerged for Colgate, finishing a three-pass possession with a shot from beyond the arc in the right corner. Mintz elevated and drew some contact on a layup from the left side before Girard made one of the only steals for Syracuse off another pass which Colgate tried to send to the corner. But he lost the ball on the other side, only getting it back after Syracuse pressed defensively.
The press was helpful, momentarily, but Colgate found a way to avoid that. Syracuse did a better job of stopping outside shots, though their new focus opened up mid-range jumpers. Sam Thomson found space for an elbow jumper, camping under the rim for another easy layup to give Colgate a 14-point lead.
Braeden Smith began controlling Colgate’s offense whenever Richardson got a rebound, taking the ball up with 14 minutes left in the game. He drove down the left side of the court, faking a mid-range jumper twice before heaving the ball crosscourt to Moffatt for his second 3 of the game.
With under 11 minutes left in the game, Mintz settled at the top of the key, dribbling back-and-forth. He took a sudden jab, sending Moffatt onto the floor near the free-throw line. Mintz paused, allowing the fans enough time to see the shot, before rattling the ball into the basket.
Mintz and the rest of Syracuse’s offense quickly celebrated before falling back on defense, where the Orange had left an open man. Assistant coach Allen Griffen pointed out the mistake, which SU quickly fixed, but Moffatt was then wide open in the left corner, wasting no time to knock the ball in.
Mintz continued to make an impact for the Orange on both sides of the floor, stealing the ball from Moffatt and dropping in a layup. Again, Colgate worked fast in transition, though Richardson missed from the top of the key. Keegan Records collected the rebound and passed back to Lynch-Daniels at the left win, who drained the 3.
Girard took up the ball for the Orange, driving down the left side of the court only to be smothered by three Colgate defenders. They poked the ball out and Girard looked for a foul, but the whistle wasn’t there. Smith got the ball in the right corner from Richardson, swishing it before staring at his right hand.
“We don’t really know all the principles that are involved in the 2-3 so those corner shots won’t happen,” Symir Torrence said. “We just have to figure out how to do that.”