WE’RE BACK! Almost...

The Syracuse Orange hosted the No. 6 ranked Florida State Seminoles at home today and boy was it a game. The Orange earned its first top 25 win of the season after defeating the ‘Noles 82-72.

Sans a few early turnovers, Syracuse came out firing by forcing Florida State into sloppy play and getting out on the break. Tyler Lydon helped fuel the transition game by getting six (!) blocks in first half. The 2-3 zone was stout — as such, Syracuse took a 44-26 lead at the intermission.

Florida State wouldn’t go away without a fight and quickly cut Syracuse’s lead to three out of the half. After FSU’s run, Andrew White helped weather the storm by making shots. Florida State cut the lead to as little as two but was never able to take the lead. John Gillon made free throws down the stretch, not to mention a clutch lay-up to put Syracuse up four with 1:20 remaining.

Stats

Once again it was White who led the Orange in scoring, this time with 24 points while hauling in 9 boards and 4 steals. Lydon had another double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Tyler Roberson stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Gillon had 21 points and 11 assists while Tyus Battle chipped in 9 points.

Next Up

With the win Syracuse moves to 13-9 overall and 5-4 in the conference. Syracuse will now travel to NC State to take on the Wolfpack on Wednesday. That game tips at 7 pm and will air on ESPN2.