Syracuse, N.Y. ― The Syracuse men’s basketball team put together a less-than-scintillating effort in a 76-62 win over Mercyhurst on Wednesday night at the JMA Wireless Dome.
The Orange never put on a devastating run to blow out the Lakers, but the Orange still controlled the game from opening tap to final buzzer.
Syracuse, which never trailed, put five players in double-figures. JJ Starling led the way, matching his season high with 15 points.
Syracuse came into Wednesday night’s game looking to erase the memory of Saturday’s 70-69 loss to Hofstra.
The Orange got the win, improving to 7-4 on the season, but the performance did nothing to improve the team’s profile. Mercyhurst (4-8 overall) had 32- and 33-point losses to West Virginia and Davidson, respectively.
Syracuse led by 16 points at halftime and never extended the margin in the second half.
Mercyhurst guard Bernie Blunt III, the son of former Jamesville-DeWitt High school star Bernard Blunt, scored 15 points for the Lakers.
Syracuse has two more non-conference games before hosting Clemson in the ACC opener on Dec. 31. The Orange will host Northeastern on Saturday and Stonehill on Monday.
The Orange dominated on the boards early on, but the Lakers narrowed the gap to 39-32 by the game’s end.
Syracuse center William Kyle led the effort on the glass, recording 15 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Kyle also blocked five shots.
The Syracuse defense held Mercyhurst to 40 percent field goal shooting, including a 5-for-18 night from the 3-point line.
Syracuse could never put together a game-killing run as it committed a whopping 16 turnovers.
Mercyhurst never seriously challenged the Orange, yet Syracuse could never put more than 19 points between it and the Lakers.
The Orange didn’t shoot the ball exceptionally well in the opening half, going 14-for-33 (42%) from the field, but dominated the boards with a 27-15 rebounding advantage.
Syracuse’s 12 offensive rebounds in the first half led to 15 second-chance points.
After scoring a season-high 15 points in Saturday’s loss to Hofstra, Starling matched that total in Wednesday’s win.
Naithan George broke out of his recent slump, scoring 12 points. It was the most since his 14-point outing in the season opener against Binghamton.
Akir Souare, Syracuse’s reserve center, scored his first field goal of the season on a layup off a pass from Kiyan Anthony midway through the second half. Souare had scored his first points of the season in the first half on a pair of free throws.
