BC feels the Orange crush
Blown out in ACC opener
Syracuse played a nearperfect game Saturday, handing Boston College its worst deficit loss in the 32year history of Conte Forum.
The Orangemen combined ridiculous shooting percentages from the field and the line with a smothering defense and timely rebounding in a 101-63 victory over BC in the ACC opener for both squads.
The Eagles’ 38-point deficit eclipsed a 37-point loss (91-54) to UConn on March 8, 2003. BC fell to 1-5 and will host California in a nonconference game on Dec. 22.
“We were a step off the pace in every area and were just really poor defensively,” said BC coach Jim Christian. “We’ve just got to keep getting better and keep working.
“That’s on me but they have to take ownership as well.”
The numbers tell the whole story of this one. The Orangemen (4-1) shot 58.7% from the floor with 37 made field goals and 16 from outside the arc. They also made 11-of-12 free throws, enjoyed a 40-29 advantage on the boards and forced 17 turnovers.
BC made 23-of-65 from the floor (35.4%), shot 8-of-31 from downtown (25.8%) and missed five free throws. BC was outscored 38-24 in the paint, 24-12 off turnovers and 21-11 in fastbreak points.
Junior forward Alan Griffin led a balanced Syracuse effort that included six players in double figures. Griffin had 19 points with five made 3s while Joseph Girard and Buddy Boeheim netted 17 apiece. Center James Karnik led BC with 20 points and eight rebounds.
“I honestly thought for the first 10 minutes we got great shots, shots that we should make, shots we are very capable of making against a zone” said Christian. “I think that affected us, which it should never do. But I think when guys missed some shots early that they know that should make they started to hang their heads and not sprint back.
“That is not who we are, that is not who we want to be. It’s disappointing because you can’t let offense dictate effort level.”
The Orangemen led 48-30 at the half and padded their advantage with three straight layups to go up 5430, prompting Christian to call timeout less than two minutes in. The deluge continued with Syracuse going up 60-35 into the first media timeout.
The Orangemen exited the break and went on an 11-0 run fueled by Griffin’s pair from behind the arc. Syracuse went up 71-25 with 12:00 remaining and that forced Christian to call his second timeout of the half.
Karnik ended a 7:28 field goal drought on a put-back to make it 74-39 with 9:08 to play. Boeheim countered with a pull-up and a corner trey before Woody Newton’s dunk that gave Syracuse an 81-39 lead into the third media timeout.
“We were just looking for any combination but we couldn’t find it,” said Christian. “We formed an identity of what we are getting early in the year and getting last game.
“Without question we need to practice.”
Syracuse got the high-low thing going early and jumped to a 13-5 lead into the first media timeout. Senior forward Marek Dolezaj had two easy layups from under the basket while Boeheim dropped a pair from downtown during the spree.
When the long ball failed to land, BC went inside to Karnik, who powered in three layups to cut the Cuse lead to 25-17 with 10:47 to play.
Cuse sophomore forward Quincy Guerrier scored 10 of his 14 first half points with a flurry of back door cuts and baseline drives. Guerrier, who was 5-of-7 from the floor in the half, converted a 3-point play to put Syracuse up 43-29 with 1:59 to play.
Guard Wynston Tabbs and Karnik combined for 22 of BC’s 30 points in the first half.