College men's basketball: Freshmen contribute in Orange's victory over Fighting Irish
Jan. 15—SYRACUSE — Chris Bell and Maliq Brown each poured in career highs in scoring as the Syracuse University men's basketball team leaned on its freshmen and the full-court press to produce a double-digit comeback in the second half.
Bell scored a team-high 17 points and Brown added 15 off the bench to help Syracuse rally back for the 78-73 Atlantic Coast Conference victory over Notre Dame in front of the largest crowd of the season — 20,666 — Saturday night at the JMA Wireless Dome.
The Orange (12-6 overall, 5-2 ACC) completed the season sweep of the Fighting Irish (9-9, 1-6) and improved to 9-2 since its first win in the series Dec. 3.
Syracuse ended the day as one of five teams tied for second place in the ACC standings and will next play at 7 p.m. Monday at No. 15/16-ranked Miami (14-3, 5-2).
The Orange utilized full-court pressure over the final 11-plus minutes to erase a 12-point deficit and secure the come-from-behind victory.
"At the end of the day, we really didn't give them a comfortable shot, once we got the lead we stopped pressing and we just relied on our defense, and it was really good down the stretch," SU coach Jim Boeheim said.
Syracuse trailed, 59-47, with 11 minutes and 51 seconds left when it first went to the full-court defense to spark a turnaround. SU did not force a turnover with the press but was successful in its bid to throw Notre Dame off its rhythm after a dominant long-range shooting performance to that point.
The Fighting Irish finished 15-for-37 on 3-point field goals overall but made just one of its last 10 attempts from deep after SU first went to the full-court pressure.
"We were able to generate energy as well as stops," SU freshman point guard Judah Mintz said. "I really think it was just the press giving us energy, giving us life, and after that we just rode the wave and never looked back."
Bell helped carry the load offensively, finishing a career-best 5-for-8 from behind the 3-point arc, including a go-ahead make from deep to give SU its first lead after halftime, 69-68, with 3:20 left.
The freshman forward surpassed his previous career scoring high of 14 during the second half and had been held to single-digit outputs over his previous five games.
Bell has started all 17 outings but entered averaging 6.7 points in just 18 minutes per game. He played 34 minutes to match a season high and mark his highest total since Nov. 23.
"It felt good, just you know, my shot still works," Bell said. "I was more just happy that we got the win."
Brown scored 11 of his 15 in the second half, adding six rebounds as he shined off the bench for the third straight game as a force inside.
Syracuse played with four freshmen on the floor for much of the rally with Justin Taylor joining Bell, Brown, and Mintz for a long stretch after senior shooting guard Joe Girard III was forced out with a cut above his eye. Girard III returned to close out the game but was held to seven total points.
Senior center Jesse Edwards delivered 13 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks and four assists for SU.
Mintz finished with 14 points and eight assists, cutting through Notre Dame's zone to set up easy looks around the basket in the second half. The freshman point guard went 8-for-10 on free throws and made four in the final 20 seconds to close out the win.
Marcus Hammond scored 18 points to lead four players in double figures for Notre Dame, followed by Dane Goodwin (15), Nate Laszewski (14) and Trey Wertz (12). All four players made at least three shots from behind the arc.
Notre Dame went 9-for-17 from deep in the first half to build a 40-36 edge at the intermission, surpassing its season average for 3-pointers (8.8) in the first half. It entered ranked third in the ACC for 3-pointers made and 3-point percentage.
Baldwinsville native J.J. Starling scored six points in 26 minutes for Notre Dame. The freshman guard was quiet after scoring the first bucket overall on a floater. He received a large ovation when introduced as a starter.
