Syracuse held off Niagara for a 83-71 win on Thursday night to close its non-conference schedule. Here are the main takeaways from the win.

The Syracuse bench played a big role in turning things around the first half. Maliq Brown, Quadir Copeland, Kyle Cuffe Jr., and Benny Williams substituted en masse into the game just over seven minutes into the action.

The Orange outscored Niagara with those four on the floor by a 17-7 margin in under six-and-a-half minutes of play to grab control of the contest, closing that span with 11 straight points.

Luke Bumbalough was the driving force for Niagara in keeping them around in the first half.

The guard had a hot start and finished the first half hitting 5-of-7 from 3 and 6-of-9 overall for 17 of the Purple Eagles’ 28 points.

His teammates were just 4-for-23 from the field in the session, including missing all five of their shots from long range.

SU also had their way in the paint in building their first half lead. The Orange shot 7-of-10 on shots classified as lay-ups and dunks in the first half, while Niagara was just 2-of-11. The Purple Eagles outshot Syracuse on everything else in the half, 8-of-21 (38.1 percent) to 7-of-24 (29.2 percent).

After shooting 60 percent or better on twos in the last two games, the Orange were just 12-for-25 (48 percent) in the first half inside the arc against a much smaller team despite their success at the rim. They did rebound after the break, knocking down 13-of-21 (61.9 percent) in the second session.

Judah Mintz was the one Syracuse player who clearly responded to Adrian Autry calling an early second half time out. While he mentioned before the season that he wanted to be a more vocal leader, Mintz’s play clearly was trying to inspire his Orange mates as he had a hand in seven straight points to double their lead to 14.

After making a lay-up, he made an easy extra pass for a Chris Bell triple, then threw a long outlet pass to set up another Bell score.

Justin Taylor also did some good work in the second half, including a quick eight-point outburst. He finished the session with 11 points, including three 3-pointers, tying a season high for a single game.

He is up to 34.5 percent from behind the arc on the season, making 8-of-18 from deep in the last four games.

Quadir Copeland continued his strong play, logging his third straight games in double digits in scoring. In addition to averaging 13.7 points in that time, he also has 16 rebounds and 14 assists in those three games.

The bench’s quality play in recent games gives Autry a very valuable tool to work with. Beyond Brown’s consistent play that ensures him significant minutes at center, Autry can mix-and-match at guard and forward, pending on who is playing well that night, or even at that moment.

That versatility should allow him to squeeze more out of the roster as players have off nights.

The conference schedule takes over as Syracuse (9-3, 0-1 ACC) hosts Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers (9-3, 0-1) will carry a four-game win streak into the contest, as their last loss was a 79-70 defeat against Clemson in their ACC opener, but have won three straight and five of six against the Orange.

Three different players combine for 48 points per game for Pitt, led by 6’8” forward Blake Hinson, who leads the squad with 20.3 points per game and 45 3-pointers on the season. Hinson has topped the 25-point mark five times this season, including dropping 29 points and nine triples against West Virginia. Guards Ishmael Leggett (13.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game) and Carlton Carrington (13.8 points and 5.3 assists per game) provide additional firepower.

Syracuse and Pittsburgh will tip off for the 125th time at 12:00pm Eastern on Saturday with the CW handling television duties.

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