72 - 62 Syracuse started out ACC play with a win on the road over Notre Dame.
South Bend, Indiana — With 2:25 remaining in the game and Syracuse clinging to a three possession lead, Tyus Battle dribbled, stepped back, gathered himself and pulled up just inside the three point arc and buried a mid-range dagger to give the Syracuse Orange a nine point lead over Notre Dame. The Orange closed the game out and won its first game of ACC play 72-62.
Syracuse took an early 3-2 lead on an Elijah Hughes jumper but quickly dug a hole after allowing open looks for D.J. Harvey and dunks at the rim from John Mooney, resulting in a 20-10 Irish lead. Jalen Carey was a spark off the bench, leading the charge on a 7-0 with a transition layup, kick to Hughes for three and pull-up jumper to bring Syracuse back within one possession at 20-17.
Still, Notre Dame was able to connect from distance throughout the half and capped off the first with a made triple to take a 38-37 lead into the break. The Irish shot 7-14 from three in the first 20 minutes.
Syracuse came storming out of the half on a 9-0 run starting with a Frank Howard corner jumper before a TJ Gibbs made three. Both defenses defended the perimeter better in the second as Notre Dame notably started to cool from distance but Mooney was able to get inside and score and get to the free throw line.
With 6:17 left in the game Notre Dame cut the Syracuse lead to two and that was as close it would get. Hughes and Battle began to take over down the stretch and impressive shooting from both buoyed the Orange and Battle’s jumper proved to be the final nail in the coffin.
From there, Howard would make a three and Oshae Brissett nailed a pair of free throws while Notre Dame wasn’t within striking distance.
Video Recap
Final Stats
Elijah Hughes led Syracuse in scoring with 22 points on six made threes. Oshae Brissett had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds while Battle finished with 17 points. Howard had 8 points and 4 assists.
After shooting 50 percent from deep in the first half, Notre Dame finished shooting just 34.4 percent for the game from distance. Syracuse shot 41.4 percent from downtown.
Next Up
Syracuse returns home to take on Clemson on Wednesday from the Carrier Dome. That game tips at 8 p.m. ET with the ACCN picking up coverage.
