Syracuse Snaps Four Game Losing Streak With Senior Night Win Over Wake Forest

The Orange put together a complete performance in knocking off the Demon Deacons.

On Saturday afternoon, Syracuse Men’s basketball hosted Wake Forest for the final game of the 2023 regular season. This was also a game in which two members of the 2003 National Championship team were getting their jerseys retired. Those members are Hakim Warrick and Gerry McNamara. The rest of the championship team was also in attendance to see their former teammates get honored. Not surprisingly, Carmelo Anthony received the loudest ovation when first being introduced. Over 24,000 were in attendance to see not only the jersey retirements, but also a SU victory winning by a final score of 72-63.

With Saturday being the season finale, the current members of the Orange basketball team did not disappoint. Despite shooting just 12 percent from three in the first half, the Orange were able to have a 10 point lead at halftime. Leading the Orange in the first half was Judah Mintz scoring 13 points to go with three assists and three rebounds. In total Mintz finished with 17 points, five assists, three rebounds, and three steals.

In his final regular season game as a Syracuse Orange, it’s safe to say senior Jesse Edwards left it all on the court today in dominating fashion. The big man from the Netherlands finished with 27 points, 20 rebounds, five steals, and two blocks. Edwards had the first 20-20 game by a SU player since 2009. Head Coach Jim Boeheim spoke to the media after the game and discussed Edward’s “monster” game.

“Jesse was a monster tonight inside. We did a good job finding him,” said Boeheim. “ He was all over the place, he had five steals. You can't play better than that. He was in a different world today and was great.”

While Boeheim had high praise for his current player, he also took a moment to recognize his former star player Hakim Warrick. Boeheim told a story of recruiting Warrick to attend Syracuse when he was in high school.

“ People didn't know who he was. We held him off a couple times in recruiting and finally, we made a decision. We're not gonna wait for anybody else.” Boheim recalled. “And luckily his Mom wanted to come here and he wanted to come here. It all worked out and he's a great player. He was one of the great players in terms of the things he did.”

Being back at Syracuse for the first team since his Senior Year was a whirlwind of emotions for Warrick. Warrick spoke on being back and how he still gets goosebumps.

“I definitely got goosebumps just hearing the crowd,” Warrick said. “ Watching the videos on the big screen, and being here with my teammates felt like old times.”

The Syracuse team today mirrored the 03 championship team today with the defensive effort that was on display. The Orange had a season high 13 steals in the game, including five from Edwards which was a career high. SU also finished with five total team blocks and held Wake Forest to 25 percent shooting from the three point line. This was a massive improvement from this past Tuesday's loss to Georgia Tech in which Georgia Tech made an outstanding 45 percent from beyond the arc.

Although many questions remain for the Orange..

Will Mintz come back next year? Will Boeheim come back? .. The Orange still have at least one game remaining.

In the first round of the ACC tournament, the Orange will take on Wake Forest once again. The Orange will be the 9th seed while the Demon Deacons will be the 8th seed. The game will take place on Wednesday at noon in Grennsboro, North Carolina.

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