Syracuse hosted Monmouth tonight, which was way better than hosting Rutgers.
The Syracuse Orange (2-0) hosted the Monmouth Hawks (1-1) tonight at the Carrier Dome in a homecoming of sorts for Hawks head coach, King Rice. Favored to win the MAAC, Monmouth figures to be an NCAA Tournament team and proved to be a good test for Syracuse at home. Nonetheless, the Orange were able to close the deal, winning 71-50.
For the second time in as many games it was Andrew White who got things started for Syracuse. He scored 18 points in the first half on three triples. White helped fuel a 9-4 run to end the half which gave Syracuse a 37-29 lead at the intermission.
In the early going of the second half the Orange looked to take advantage of its size down low. By getting easy looks around the rim, Syracuse extended its lead with a 6-0 run out of the gate.
The 2-3 zone was key in this game as Monmouth was held to just 31.7 percent shooting from the floor and 14.3 percent from three. Syracuse also won the rebounding battle 45-36.
White lead Syracuse in scoring with 18 — he didn’t score in the second half — while Frank Howard finished with 8 points and 6 assists. Taurean Thompson chipped in 12 points in the game but on his final bucket he took a scary fall with 2:04 left to play. Thompson was helped to the locker room, unable to put any pressure on his left leg. More on this to come.
Syracuse improved to 3-0 on the season and will host South Carolina State on Tuesday before heading to New York to take on South Carolina on 11/26. South Carolina soon to be annexed.