Field Level Media
Dec 5, 2023
Judah Mintz scored 28 points and Chris Bell added 19 as Syracuse defeated Cornell for the 43rd straight time, posting an 81-70 home victory Tuesday.
Mintz and Bell each made five 3-pointers, while Justin Taylor knocked down three triples en route to 15 points for the Orange (6-3). Maliq Brown chipped in 11 rebounds off the bench for Syracuse, while Taylor rounded out his effort with eight boards and six assists.
Cornell (7-2) was led by Cooper Noard (15 points) and Isaiah Gray (11 points, six assists, six rebounds). The Big Red finished just 9 of 33 (27.3 percent) from outside the arc, and their 9-of-17 foul shooting and 15 turnovers didn't help matters either.
The Big Red erased most of a 14-point deficit down the stretch, going on an 18-7 run to get within 71-68 on Gray's dunk with just under three minutes remaining.
The Orange called timeout and regrouped from that point on. JJ Starling made a jumper with just over two minutes left, and Quadir Copeland delivered four points in the final minute for the hosts. Mintz's dunk in the waning seconds sealed the victory.
Syracuse held an early 15-14 lead before buckets by Copeland, Taylor and Kyle Cuffe pushed the advantage to 22-14 with nine minutes left before halftime.
Shortly thereafter, Mintz made two foul shots to create the game's first double-digit lead. With about 5 1/2 minutes remaining in the half, Naheem McLeod dunked to give the Orange their largest first-half cushion at 33-20.
However, the Big Red responded with an 11-1 run to close the half. Noard hit two 3-pointers during that stretch and Keller Boothby made one of his own to help the visitors get within 34-31 at the break.
The Orange scored 14 of the first 20 points in the second half to go ahead by 11 on Taylor's layup about 3 1/2 minutes into the session. Midway through the period, they were ahead by as many as 14 on Bell's jumper that made it 64-50 before Cornell made things interesting.
--Field Level Media