Mintz explodes for 29 points, Orange defeat Virginia Tech 84-71 in final home game

Syracuse concludes this regular season with a 14-2 record in the Dome.

Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images

Despite another shaky performance in the second half, the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team (19-10, 10-8) rallied behind its efficient offense and a strong day from Judah Mintz on Tuesday night to beat the Virginia Tech Hokies (15-13, 7-10) 84-71 in the program’s last home game of the regular season.

Syracuse shot over 60% from the field in the first half and led by as much 21 points (48-27), but the Hokies responded with a massive run to cut the Orange’s lead to as low as seven points (69-62). The Orange got great looks on offense throughout the game, which ultimately propelled the team to its third-straight win.

Judah Mintz scored a game-high 29 points on 10/17 shooting to go along with 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals. J.J. Starling finished with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists while both Maliq Brown (12 points, 8 rebounds) and Quadir Copeland (12 points and 4 assists) also finished in double-figures. Syracuse shot nearly 57% from the field and held a lead for over 85% of the game.

Sean Pedulla finished with a team-high 18 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists for Virginia Tech. Lynn Kidd (16 points), Hunter Cattoor (12 points) and Mylyjael Poteat (11 points) also finished in double-figures for the Hokies, who shot 49% from the field and 30% from three.

Syracuse looked to attack the rim right from the jump on offense. Brown got an early basket off an assist from Mintz to put the Orange on the board less than two minutes into the game. Starling drove inside soon after for a layup to put Syracuse up early. Outside of Bell, the rest of Syracuse’s starters scored exactly two points each as the Orange led 8-4 at the first media timeout.

Virginia Tech responded with a quick 7-0 run capped off by a three-point make from Sean Pedulla, but Mintz responded the very next possession with a three-pointer near the top of the key to tie the game at 11-11. Moving the ball in the half court looked like it was paying off particularly in the halfcourt — five of the Orange’s first six baskets came off of assists.

A long pass by Mintz set up Bell for a nice driving layup along the baseline to put Syracuse up again (15-13) with 10 minutes in the first half remaining. Syracuse’s lead was trimmed down to one point after an and-one layup from Mylyjael Poteat, but Cuffe Jr. and Copeland provided an early spark right off the bench as momentum started to shift in the Orange’s favor.

Cuffe Jr. followed a made layup with a three-pointer to put Syracuse up 24-18, while Copeland converted his first shot as the team went up by eight points. Those three baskets kicked off a massive run where Syracuse outscored Virginia Tech 28-11 in the final nine minutes of the first half.

Efficient offense continued to be a major factor as the Orange shot 61% (19/31) in the first half and held advantages over the Hokies in fastbreak points (11-0), points off turnovers (13-5) and points in the paint (30-18). Mintz scored a game-high 16 points in the first half while five additional Syracuse players made at least two baskets as the Orange entered halftime up 45-27.

Starling drilled a three-pointer on the first possession of the second half to balloon Syracuse’s lead to as much as 21 points, while the Hokies’ offense started to find some life as Pedulla and Beran started to get going. Bell knocked down a mid-range jumper and a three-pointer to keep the Orange’s offense afloat, and Syracuse was still up 63-49 with under 12 minutes to go despite a couple of careless turnovers which allowed the Hokies to trim the deficit down a bit.

Unfortunately, Syracuse’s defense started to slip up as Virginia Tech’s offense really started to catch fire. The Hokies began the second half shooting 15/23 (65%) from the field, and just like that, Syracuse’s lead was cut down to seven points (69-62) with seven minutes to go.

From here, Mintz really began to take over down the stretch as he relentlessly attacked the rim and took advantage of Virginia Tech’s backcourt on offense. An and-one layup by Mintz put Syracuse up by 11 points again (80-69) with roughly three minutes to spare, and a dunk soon after by Brown put the game ultimately away for good.

Syracuse finishes this regular season with a 14-2 record at home. Up next for the Orange is a trip to the KFC Yum! Center for a matchup versus the Louisville Cardinals.