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Joe Girard III separated himself from the rest of Syracuse’s offense with under 13 minutes to go in the game. He didn’t need a screen from Symir Torrence or a set play to free himself up. Girard just waited to make his move.

Girard crossed to his left and back to his right. The final move sent Rashad King a few steps back, allowing Girard space to fire from four steps behind the 3-point line. He drilled the shot before turning and heading back to the other end of the floor.

Girard wasn’t on defense for that long, waiting for one of his teammates to collect the rebound after Chase Cormier’s potential answer clanked off the rim. Before Maliq Brown caught the ball, Girard had already abandoned his spot at the top right of the zone and sprinted down the right side of the court. He caught the ball from Brown and laid it in, uncontested, to extend SU’s lead to 24.

Girard’s layup capped off a season-high 21-point performance on Saturday night in Syracuse’s (2-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) 76-48 win over Northeastern (0-4, Colonial Athletic). His total was also a team-high, while Judah Mintz and Jesse Edwards added 18 and 19 points, respectively, to help clinch Jim Boeheim’s 1,000th official win. Girard continuously worked off screens and set plays in the first half, starting 3-for-3 from deep.

“He’s played well all year in practice and games. He’s been good,” Boeheim said.

This season, Girard shifted to the shooting guard position, after the addition of Mintz, who has already cemented himself as the starting point guard for SU. Boeheim said the move was better for him and the team, still allowing him to be what he is — a scorer.

“He’s a scorer. That’s what he is; that’s what he was,” Boeheim said.

The move has allowed Syracuse to revolve some of its plays towards him, having Edwards, or some of its other bigs, set off-ball screens for Girard to free him up at the corner or wings. The new style of play has left most of the facilitating duties to Mintz or Torrence. But when Girard does bring the ball up, he’ll receive an on-ball screen from Edwards at the top of the key to fend off defenders.

“It’s just another way for me to compete,” Girard said. “It’s probably the more fun spot in the Syracuse offense just because of the way we run our offense through the wings.”

Colgate figured out how to neutralize Girard on Tuesday, though. Boeheim said the Raiders successfully dedicated multiple players on certain possessions to stop Girard. The Orange needed other players to fill that void, which Mintz did briefly, but the offense was slow and stagnant.

Girard finished with four threes against Colgate, taking a total of 12 attempts — the next closest player was Mintz with four. On Tuesday, Girard again took most of SU’s shots from deep, but this time he was a lot more successful, using set pieces and deception to tear apart Northeastern’s defense.

At the top of the key, Edwards set Girard a screen just two minutes into the game. Girard rejected it before crossing back to his left and firing from four steps behind the arc. He drilled it and used an off-ball screen from Edwards to score from the same spot a few possessions later.

“The guys did a great job setting up screens and getting me open,” Girard said. “We always have guys that are really good at getting into the paint, which makes for easy shots for me outside.”

To go 3-for-3, Girard positioned himself on the left wing while Torrence held the ball at the top of the key. Girard cut into the lane hard but stopped immediately once he reached the edge of the paint. He then turned his body toward Torrence and retreated to the corner.

Mounir Hima had a defender on him, but he sidestepped to help move Girard’s out of the way. With enough space, Girard’s shot fell to give SU a 24-17 lead.

Three minutes before he was taken out of the game, Girard drove hard into the lane instead of staying near the 3-point line. He was fouled and scored the layup, but couldn’t convert the three-point play.

Mintz had replaced Torrence at point guard, and Girard stationed himself at the right wing a possession later. Mintz fired the ball with his right hand to Girard, who emerged open again after Edwards set an off-ball screen. He elevated and drained his second-to-last 3 of the night.

Published on November 19, 2022 at 10:23 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu