Syracuse (2-0) topped St. Bonaventure (1-1), 79-66, at the Carrier Dome on Tuesday night. The Orange was outrebounded 43-32 and its top rebounder fouled out with 4:27 remaining in the game, but Michael Gbinije and Tyler Lydon paced the Orange to a win in a game once in the Bonnies’ grasp.

Here are three quick observations from SU’s second victory on the season.

Stretch

Lydon slowly backpedalled after hitting a 3 that stretched Syracuse’s lead to double digits for the first time all night. St. Bonaventure called a timeout with under four minutes left and the freshman stood with a wide grin as Trevor Cooney and Gbinije approached him to celebrate.

With Dajuan Coleman on the bench a majority of the night, Lydon slid into the middle of the 2-3 zone. He struggled on the glass at times, but made up for it on the offensive end with 13 points, including two late 3s that helped bury SBU.

Lydon continued to showcase his versatility for a team both thin down low and offensively challenged – according to head coach Jim Boeheim – and helped SU avoid a nonconference scare.

On the glass

In the first half, Tyler Roberson had more rebounds than the rest of Syracuse combined. On one sequence, he grabbed a defensive board while being nudged in the back, snatched the ball out of a scramble on the other end and hauled in an offensive board before drawing a foul.

Coleman only played six minutes in the first half and Lydon struggled on the defensive end at center. Roberson shouldered the bulk of the load on the glass while SU was outrebounded in the first half.

But with 7:36 remaining in the game, Roberson was called for his fourth foul. He stayed in the game and fouled out with 4:27 left. But even without its best rebounder on the night – Roberson finished with 12 – SU was able to compensate down low as it pulled away.

Like Mike

With 52.7 seconds left in the first half, Gbinije picked up his third foul on a blocking call. Jim Boeheim instructed him to “stop the ball” and the point guard headed to the bench as SU closed out the half down six.

He started the second frame and after the visitors’ student section erupted on a St. Bonaventure 3, Gbinije hit a wide-open 3 and slammed home a Malachi Richardson airball to bring the Orange within three at the 13-minute mark.

He paced the Orange to the finish, not picking up another foul along the way, and rounded out a 23-point, five-assist and four-steal performance.

Published on November 17, 2015 at 9:12 pm