Syracuse used an early 10-3 run to grab a lead over Canisius they would never give up, but they never truly got comfortable until ripping off 14 straight points for a 68-48 lead after about 30 minutes had elapsed. The Orange (2-0) coasted home from there to pick up an 89-77 victory over the Golden Griffins (0-1).

Resembling a pest on a summer evening, Canisius hung around for the bulk of the first half, never letting SU get ample breathing room.

Judah Mintz took care of that, hanging a personal 12-3 run in the second half, including the first ten of that aforementioned 14-0 burst to push the game toward the win column.

Even after that, Canisius still erased a chunk of that margin, including a 9-2 run to get within single digits with just over four minutes to play.

SU, however, withstood that push by scoring the next two buckets to reinstate a 13-point margin and held on for the victory.

The backcourt drove the bus for the Syracuse offense, as Mintz and J.J. Starling combined for 43 points. Mintz topped all players with a collegiate-best 26 points while Starling handed out seven assists and grabbed seven rebounds to go with his 17 markers.

Justin Taylor added 13 points and Chris Bell a dozen while Naheem McLeod finished with seven points, nine boards, and five blocks in just 18 minutes.

The Orange offense performed well for much of the night, including a 48-point effort in the second half powered by a 54.8 percent shooting mark from the field.

The defense, however, left a little to be desired, as Canisius shot 48.4 percent in the game, including making ten 3-pointers on the night.

The real shortcoming of the Golden Griffins was their 5-for-17 effort at the foul line. They were 4-of-14 in the first half and ended up trailing at the break, 41-32.

Tre Dinkins led four Canisius players in double figures with 17 points.

Frank Mitchell fell one board shy of a double-double as he and Tahj Staveskie each scored 12 points and T.J. Gadsden added ten.

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