Louisville closed the first half with a dozen straight points, effectively ending the competitive part of their game with Syracuse and eventually grabbing a convincing win at the JMA Wireless Dome. Chucky Hepburn hit three of his six 3-pointers in that run to lead the Cardinals (13-5, 6-1 ACC) to their seventh straight with 24 points.
The Orange (8-9, 2-4 ACC) were disconnected on defense far too often, allowing the guests to shoot 50.0 percent overall and riddle them with a dozen triples on the night. SU was no match on offense, making just 40.0 percent from the field and 32.0 from long distance. Syracuse logged four stretches of at least three minutes without a point, including nearly five minutes to close the first half.
The Orange got out to a slow start, this time with its offense stuck in the mud, missing their first three attempts as part of a 2-for-10 start from the field. That poor marksmanship led to the Cardinals getting out to an early 13-4 advantage just over five minutes into the action, capping that start with ten straight markers.
The Syracuse defense helped settle things down by holding Louisville scoreless for the better part of three minutes and Chris Bell and Jyare Davis each connected from long range to make is a three-point game at the under-12 media break. A second 3-pointer by Bell made it a 9-2 Orange run to pull within 15-13.
The Cards struck back with a run, hanging a 13-4 burst to push their lead into double digits for the first time at 28-17. SU climbed back into the game with seven straight markers a few minutes later, including a second triple from Davis, but Chucky Hepburn replied with back-to-back 3’s for the visitors, reinstating a double-digit lead at 37-27 and forcing a Syracuse time out.
Reyne Smith added a triple when the action resumed and Hepburn added another with under 90 seconds left in the half, pushing the Louisville lead to 16. Jaquan Carlos got a last-second shot to bounce through the rim, but it was released just after the clock hit zero and did not count, leaving the Orange in a 43-27 halftime hole.
Another Smith three quickly pushed the lead to 19 when the second half got underway. SU got a 3-pointer and a putback from Carlos to draw within 48-34, but the Cardinals responded with seven straight to get the margin past 20 for the first time.
The guests kept Syracuse at arm’s length and eventually put together another 7-0 burst near the midpoint of the half to push their advantage to 70-46. Louisville eventually pushed the lead out to 26 in the final minute as they did not ease off the throttle.
Bell led the Orange with 18 points, connecting on 4-of-7 shots from beyond the arc. Eddie Lampkin posted his third consecutive double-double with 11 pints and ten rebounds. Davis joined them in double figures with ten points to go with eight boards.
Hepburn blistered the nets for the Cardinals, shooting 8-of-13 from the field and 6-of-10 from long range. Terrence Edwards Jr. was one of four other Louisville players also in double digits with 16 points. J’Vonne Hadley posted a 13-point, ten-rebound double-double while James Scott and Smith each chipped in with ten points.
----
Chat about this story and all things Syracuse and Syracuse recruiting on our premium message board, Cuse Classified!
Follow us on Twitter @TheJuiceOnline, like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram @SUJuiceOnline and listen to our podcast.
Tips/questions/concerns? E-mail Recruiting Analyst Charles Kang here.
Not a subscriber to The Juice Online? Join today for access to all our premium content and message board community.
