Highlights & Recap: Syracuse Stuns Colgate With Historic Comeback

The Orange improved to 3-0 on the season with a win over the Raiders.

The Syracuse Orange took down the Colgate Raiders with a final score of 79-75 after a 24 point second-half comeback. After three games, they sit at 3-0, looking to keep their winning streak going against the Tennessee Volunteers next Monday at the Maui Invitational.

The comeback was the first 20 point comeback victory since the 2020-21 season and the 24 point comeback represented the second largest in ACC history (Florida State, 25, last season). 

The first half was a major struggle for the Orange, falling behind 46-30. Chris Bell led the offense with 10 points and two three-pointers, but the team overall struggled from behind the line shooting 4 for 17 (24%).

Keegan Records used his size to his advantage, putting up 9 points and 6 rebounds, including two offensive rebounds, leading the charge for the Colgate Raiders in the paint. Ryan Moffatt led the Raiders on the outside with 12 points and two three-pointers.

The game started with a Chris Bell three but was quickly followed by Colgate dominating the glass and grabbing an early lead, snagging six early offensive rebounds. The Orange were able to recover on the defensive glass soon after, but the offense slowly fell apart as the half went on, and the lead started to mount for Colgate due to their efficient offense.

Colgate shot 50% from the field and 53% from three, much better than Syracuse’s 37% and 24% percentages in the first half.

The second half started horribly with the Orange going scoreless for the first few minutes. However, Coach Red made some adjustments, playing more aggressively on the defensive end with utilizing the full court press, helping raise the team’s energy and generate extra possessions through forced turnovers. Syracuse generated nine of their ten steals in the game in the second half.

Syracuse worked hard to maintain a positive mindset throughout the second half even when things looked bleak.

“Our goal was, every four minutes, let’s look up and see where we are,” Autry said. 

That mindset helped slowly chip away at the Colgate lead, eventually taking the lead late in the game.

Chris Bell continued to lead the offense with his three-point shooting, Judah Mintz scored some transition baskets, and the defense led the furious comeback. The Orange took their first lead of 72-70 with a minute left since the first basket of the game. Syracuse only led the game for 1:26.

After Maliq Brown stole an inbound pass and dunked it, followed by two free throws, the Orange had their biggest lead of the game with under a minute left at 76-70. Syracuse held on to win by four.

Chris Bell finished as the game’s leading scorer with a career high 25 points, while Judah Mintz followed closely behind with 23 points. Bell dominated the three-point line, shooting 6 of 14, while Mintz dominated at the free-throw line, going 11 for 14.

The biggest shot of the game came with a minute and a half. Judah Mintz passed the ball out to Bell, and after holding the ball for a couple of seconds, pulled up with a defender in his face and knocked the shot down, tying the game 70-70.

“I looked up at the shot clock, and I remembered I hadn’t shot a shot like that in a while, so I decided, I’m just going to take it,” Bell said.