Syracuse Ready to Build on Season Opening Win

The Orange beat Lehigh in the Dome Monday night.

On the opening day of the 2022-23 college basketball season, Syracuse was one of the teams that found itself on the winning side. The Orange opened the season 90-72 convincingly over the Lehigh Mountain Hawks.

The winningest active coach in Division I basketball, Head Coach Jim Boeheim, got his 1,100th career win to begin his 47th year at the helm.

But Boeheim did not care.

“This was our first win,” Boeheim said. “Now we are 1-0 and that’s the only thing I’m concerned about. Nothing else matters.”

The win was made possible thanks to a 10-0 run by the Orange with just under nine minutes left in the first half.

Lehigh’s Dominic Parolin scored the night’s first two points, and the Mountain Hawks led by as high as five points in the beginning of the game, but the Orange began to pull away and Lehigh could not get back in it. The Orange would lead by as many as 18 points heading into the half.

Both teams went on to score 46 points in the second half.

Seniors Joe Girard III and Jesse Edwards are the lone returning starters from last season. Girard led the team with 19 points and Edwards had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Symir Torrence had a career-high 10 points.

Freshman Judah Mintz started and opened his college campaign with 16 points on the night.

“[Lehigh] moved the ball well, found open shooters, and played at their own pace. They spread the court really well and we had to be ready to box out on their shots,” Mintz said.

Chris Bell also started in his first game for the Orange. Maliq Brown, Justin Taylor, Quadir Copeland, Mounir Hima and Peter Carey saw the court for the first time as some of the 12 players who got minutes.

Freshman Justin Taylor, who played in half of the game, believes Sophomore Mounir Hima was one of tonight’s most valuable players.

“When Jesse [Edwards] came out, he got back-to-back blocks and his presence inside was huge for us," Taylor said.

The Orange have swept the Mountain Hawks in all five of their series meetings, dating back to 1923.

"Overall, Lehigh's pretty good," Boeheim said. "I think they'll have a good year. This was a good game for us. We did some good things and we got a chance to play everybody. If we played six or seven guys, it could've been a different score. I was glad to get an opportunity to get guys out there." 

Syracuse will host another member of the Patriot League, Colgate, next Tuesday, November 15th at 7:00 p.m.

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