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ONONDAGA, N.Y.— Boeheim’s Army entered numerous Elam Endings during their 2021 championship run with a close margin from their opponent. But with an extensive lead, Friday night’s Elam Ending was merely a formality. It was a final few possessions before moving on to face The Nerd Team in the second round.

With the Elam Ending goal set at 89 points, assistant coach Eric Devendorf galloped around the huddled Boeheim’s Army and yelled with excitement. Assistant coach Ryan Blackwell and C.J. Fair cracked smiles while Deandre Kane put up his fists to fake box with anyone who turned his way. Meanwhile, India Rising sat motionless with the goal of an upset 41 points away.

BA had spent the majority of its opening round matchup against India Rising — a first-year TBT team composed of the best talent from India and the diaspora — flexing its quick trigger off turnovers and dominant perimeter defense. There was flair that energized the home crowd, such as an up-and-under late in the second quarter by Kane and a rim-bending dunk from Matt Morgan late in the third quarter. But it was the overpowering play in the paint, ability to draw fouls and overall success from the field that ultimately led Boeheim’s Army to make quick work of India Rising in their 90-62 win.

“We knew they were more of a perimeter team. So we tried to play a little bit of inside out, just give them a different look,” Fair said. “And to where they can open up with our guards to drive.”

Remnants of last year’s championship boastfully presented throughout the arena. A burnt Orange banner hung tucked away in the northwest corner of the SRC Arena at Onondaga Community College, signifying last year’s championship win. An hour before tip off of BA’s quest to defend its 2021 title, Orange shirts, jerseys and hats littered the arena. An italicized “B” and a black scripted “Boeheim’s Army” underneath it came together at the center of the court.

Unsatisfied with a 2021 championship, Boeheim’s Army added mostly former Syracuse players along with two non-SU graduate players. Rakeem Christmas slid in as BA’s new starting power forward while Dee Bost and Ennis became two of three point guards in the starting five, immediately making their impact on the revamped champions. Each player saw quality minutes throughout the game, with bench lineups routinely playing multiple possessions.

“(We just) tried to be there on the catch, follow them throughout every screen, not getting any easy looks, any space,” Fair said.

Boeheim’s Army started off relatively slow from the field in the opening minutes of BA’s potentially title-defending run, only notching a few layups and fast break points in the early stages of the first quarter. India Rising sank some early shots to stretch out to a 5-0 lead, quieting a mostly SU-friendly crowd. But then Kane shook his lead to the left, getting enough room from his defender to sink a mid-range shot and place Boeheim’s Army on the board.

India Rising’s last lead came with 5:03 left in the first quarter after Jaz Bains found open space to knock down a 3 and give them a 10-9 lead. Tyler Ennis then got blocked by Josh Sharma, but his second-chance attempt gave BA a lead they wouldn’t let go of.

Shortly after, Christmas collected a pass from Ennis, who was stuck down low on the right-side baseline, and flicked in the jumper from the free throw line. A few possessions later, Ennis inbounded the ball to Christmas on the post. Christmas then flipped the ball back to Ennis, set a pick, and allowed the new point guard to glide down the lane completely untouched. Boeheim’s Army pulled away at the end of the first quarter with a 19-12 lead.

“We were just undermanned from a physicality standpoint, athleticism,” India Rising head coach Ajay Sharma said. “It’s just a different athlete on the other side and their experience level.”

Early in the second quarter, Andrew White settled in deep on the left edge of the 3-point line. No India Rising defender had set their feet, nor had anyone grabbed White outside. He smoothly collected a pass down, turned his hips to the left and popped a 3 to extend Boeheim’s Army’s lead to 26-17.

India Rising worked on pin-downs, setting “hard” screens to make sure guys got open enough to do what Sharma defined as a great equalizer — making shots. They ran a triple stagger at the bottom of the offensive formation to try and get a shooter open, but shots didn’t fall quite enough and BA’s strength showed on defense.

Thirty-seven percent of Boeheim’s Army’s points in the first half came off of turnovers. Because of forced passes or getting smothered in either corner of the court, India Rising had barely enough space to string together enough uninterrupted possessions to make a dent in BA’s lead.

Boeheim’s Army only struggle in the first half came from beyond the arc. They finished the first half going 3-for-11 from deep. A missed 3-pointer from White on one possession was followed by Christmas shrinking Sukhmail Mathon in the right side of the paint and easily overcoming him to bury a layup. A missed 3 from the right side in the first quarter was followed by a jumper from Christmas.

“(Our biggest challenge was) really just finding a rhythm and to be able to come out here and just find some chemistry,” Kane said.

Bost’s 3 out of the break was met with deafening cheers as one fan flashed a paper cut-out of Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim. He slid over from the screen Christmas gave him and grabbed a pass from Ennis across the top of the key. Bost quickly curled his left foot and popped a three-pointer, the first of the game for a player not named Andrew White.

Boeheim’s Army ended up correcting their early mistakes, and soon involved Matt Morgan on the makes from deep. They ended the game going 7-of-24 from three-point land.

There were still moments, such as Ennis missing two straight 3-pointers two minutes into the fourth quarter, that showed the team hadn’t figured out their long range game yet. But by then, the lead had ballooned so far out that it didn’t matter.

So, BA marched along with its bench collecting the majority of the points, a testament to Kevin and Shaun Belbey’s quest for a deeper squad. Players like Dolezaj and White played more than Kane and Kennedy. Aryan Sharma knocked down a 3 to give India Rising 60 points, and their fans and bench cheered from the sideline. But Boeheim nailed a put-back and Bost nailed a deep 3 to seal the game, sending Boeheim’s Army to the second round.

“Everybody on the team is a professional somewhere,” Fair said. “We all know the goal is to win. By any means necessary.”

Published on July 22, 2022 at 9:54 pm

Contact Anthony: aalandt@syr.edu | @anthonyalandt