No. 25 Syracuse (7-3) dropped its first game in six contests to Old Dominion (8-3), 68-62. The Orange were led by Tyus Battle, who scored a game-high 23 points. But the Monarchs took advantage of SU’s offensive futility for much of the game.

Here are four takeaways from the game.

Big trouble 

Syracuse struggled to keep pace with Old Dominion’s big men early and the Monarch’s 7-foot duo continued to cause problems deep into the game for SU. In the first half, Syracuse’s 7-2 center Paschal Chukwu picked up two early fouls and then a third when he checked back in before the conclusion of the frame.

Old Dominion’s Elbert Robinson III worked inside with ease as he muscled his way through the much skinnier Syracuse bigs. Whenever the Monarchs reached inside, the court opened and the ball was sent to shooters beyond the arc. With the Orange leading by three with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, Old Dominion drove in and reached a wide open lane, but found Marquis Godwin on the outside for the equalizing 3-pointer.

Syracuse was dominated on second chances as well, and was out rebounded 38-33 on the game.

Battle back

Tyus Battle sparked a big Syracuse run to end the first half with eight-straight points for Syracuse including a layup in transition that ignited the Syracuse crowd. To cap the run, Battle collected the ball off of an ODU miss and walked the ball up the court. He tapped the back of Elijah Hughes, who fell to the ground in the battle for the rebound, and waited for him to cross to the other side before attacking laterally and working the ball around. The ball found its way back to Hughes who drained the three to put the Orange up.

Battle rose his hand and stuck out three fingers to the crowd as he found Hughes streaking back down on defense.

Free throw struggles

Syracuse, who has struggled at the free throw line all season, hitting under 70 percent of its attempts on the year, went just 22 for 34 at the line Wednesday. SU players split multiple attempts at the line on the game and Battle, who reached the line a game-high 15 times, missed four at the line. Following a Chukwu foul on a three-pointer, ODU hit all three free throws to secure the lead that it never lost.

After an Old Dominion three to put the Monarchs up by one, Battle stepped to the line for two shots. His first shot rolled around the rim and fell out. Battle rolled his eyes and grimaced as he retrieved the ball and walked gingerly back to his place on the line and nailed the next shot.

By the end of the game it was just B.J. Stith and the crowd. With 15.8 seconds remaining, the senior was fouled on a rebound and raised his fist as he hustled to the other side of the court. Already a two possession game, the crowd opted to stay quiet as Stith hit both from the line and sealed the game.

Back and forth

Though Syracuse was able to break through the Old Dominion defense — which coming into Saturday ranked fifth in the country in scoring defense — the Monarchs brought their own offensive firepower toward the end of the game. In the final five minutes of the game after the Monarchs tied it at 51, ODU outscored SU 27-21. Battle had 10 second half points to keep the Orange in it, including a big 3-pointer to bring SU within two points toward the end of the game. But the free throws added up for the Monarchs, who sealed the win.

Published on December 15, 2018 at 2:15 pm

Contact Michael: mmcclear@syr.edu | @MikeJMcCleary