Fast reaction: 3 quick takeaways from Syracuse’s overtime win over Wake Forest
Chase Gaewski | Staff Photographer
Trevor Cooney rises for a layup in the first half while being defended by Devin Thomas. The SU junior guard continued his hot streak, finishing with 21 points on 6-of-17 shooting.
In Syracuse’s (13-4, 4-0 Atlantic Coast) first game without freshman forward Chris McCullough, the Orange defeated Wake Forest (9-9, 1-4) 86-83 in overtime on Tuesday night. Here are three observations from SU’s fourth-straight conference win.
1. Fight night
Wake Forest freshman Konstantinos Mitoglou and Syracuse’s Rakeem Christmas staged a heavyweight bout on both ends of the Carrier Dome floor, with Mitoglou stepping out and hitting jumper after jumper and Christmas bullying him in the paint.
Demon Deacons forward Devin Thomas had been his team’s best offensive bet heading into the game, but Mitoglou made his first nine shots off the bench. The 6-foot, 10-inch forward from Greece finished with 26 points, shooting 10-of-13 from the field and 4-of-7 from 3.
Christmas wasn’t fazed by Mitoglou on the other end, as the senior out-muscled him en route to a 35-point, 9-rebound performance.
Both teams worked the ball to their respective forwards all night, and it was Christmas who helped his team have the final say.
2. Still hot
Trevor Cooney piggybacked his stellar performance against Florida State with a near-equally impressive night.
The junior sharpshooter finished with 21 points on 6-of-17 shooting after dropping in 28 on Sunday, and hit an off-the-dribble fadeaway 3 that tied the game at 65-65 and helped the Orange claw back into the contest at the end of regulation.
Cooney has been a pacifying perimeter threat since facing Louisiana Tech on Dec. 14, and continued that in a crucial conference win.
3. Remember the finish
Michael Gbinije spent most of the first half being yelled at by SU head coach for defensive mistakes and — after hitting a clutch 3 at the end of regulation — couldn’t get a layup to go as time expired.
That miss sent the game into overtime, and that’s where Gbinije stepped up to hit a pull-up midrange jump shot and then a pull-up 3 as the Orange fought the Demon Deacons off. In all, the junior forward totaled 17 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
Published on January 13, 2015 at 10:32 pm
