Tyler Lydon slowly backpedalled into St. Bonaventure’s half of the court with a smile stretching across his face. Trevor Cooney came to bump chests and Michael Gbinije raised both hands in the air on his way to join the celebration as the Bonnies called a timeout.

With 3:42 left in the second half, Syracuse’s lead stretched to double digits for the first time all night. A game once in the balance was now firmly in the Orange’s grasp.

Lydon logged 31 minutes, the majority of which came at center, and hit two 3s in the second half that helped SU pull away. The first tied the game at 54 with 9:03 left and dug Syracuse out of its last deficit of the game. The second put SU up 10, igniting the Carrier Dome crowd and sending a static Bonnies team back to their huddle.

Topped off with a 5-for-5 mark from the foul line and four second-half rebounds, Lydon’s night showed continued flashes of a thorough repertoire in Syracuse’s (2-0) 79-66 win over SBU (1-1) on Tuesday night in the Carrier Dome.

“He creates a disadvantage for the other team because then they have to step out and play all five of us,” Malachi Richardson said, “and not just three or four of us.”

Lydon’s night started off with him exposed down low. Starting center Dajuan Coleman subbed out with 13:54 remaining in the first half and didn’t re-enter until after the break. In his place, Lydon grabbed two boards while a smaller St. Bonaventure front dominated SU in the paint.

Denzel Gregg made both foul shots after being fouled by Lydon on a dunk attempt.  Then Dion Wright quickly released a layup before Lydon had time to tap the backboard. And when Gregg slammed home a putback dunk with Lydon standing flat-footed, he watched the ball drop through the hoop with a perplexed look on his face.

But after Lydon took Coleman’s spot four minutes into the second half, an offensive rebound, assist and block followed. Minutes later began the stretch of four consecutive fouls shots from the freshman that began building SU’s cushion.

“I think that probably helped him get going a little bit,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said.

With Lydon’s two late 3s, a pre-practice craft honed by assistant coach Adrian Autry materialized on the court. Lydon’s shown he can be a streaky shooter in practice, his form unwavering as he knocks down shot after shot from deep.

But on Tuesday, when Syracuse needed a spark from behind the arc with St. Bonaventure clinging to life, his stroke from deep in the Carrier Dome helped the Orange escape.

“I felt like I had a lot of confidence at the time,” Lydon said. “It felt good to get out there and knock down a couple.”

Published on November 17, 2015 at 11:46 pm

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman