Marek Dolezaj hadn’t shot a 3 midway through Thursday’s second half. His teammates, though, had already made 12. So when Elijah Hughes swung the ball to Dolezaj at the top of the key, the Slovakian sophomore decided to join the action and knock down lucky No. 13 from deep.

On the Syracuse bench, Buddy Boeheim stood up and raised an arm to the sky, pantomiming the referee’s 3-point signal. Five days after tying their season-high in 3s, Dolezaj’s triple gave the Orange their highest 3-point total in the past two seasons.

“When everyone starts shooting well, it just opens up so much opportunities for us,” Buddy said.

Syracuse (14-5, 5-1 Atlantic Coast) rode the 3-ball to its third straight conference win, beating Miami (9-9, 1-5) on Thursday in the Carrier Dome, 73-53. SU finished the game 14 for 30 from deep, led by Hughes (six 3s), Buddy (three 3s) and Frank Howard (three 3s). The perimeter shooting weapons that Syracuse seemed to have since the season’s inception have finally arrived.

“Coach has been stressing to us now or never,” Howard said. “And it’s now. And we’re just trying to take advantage of it.”

From the outset, Syracuse relied on 3-pointers — its first six shots came from beyond the arc. On its opening possession, Hughes missed a 3 from the right wing, but the next possession, he drained one from the same spot.

Then, it was Howard’s turn. Head coach Jim Boeheim has said throughout the season that Howard shot better last summer than he’d ever seen him shoot. But a preseason injury and ensuing recovery have seen his touch come back slowly. Thursday, it was back.

On the second of the three first-half 3-pointers, Howard pulled up near the top of the key to knock it down. As he ran back down the floor, he held three fingers out and brushed them along the court.

Alexandra Moreo | Senior Staff Photographer

“We’re taking that next step from trying to be a good team to trying to be a great team,” Howard said. “Being consistent against any defense. Attacking well. We know what we want to do, what kinda shots we’re trying to get. It’s just a matter of patience, stepping in and knocking down shots.”

Buddy joined the shooting action, as he has all of conference play. He made one 3 with little on-court fanfare. On the second shot Buddy knocked down, Tyus Battle raised his right arm while the ball was still in the air. On the third, Buddy ran back down the floor with the same arm-raise of his own.

Some of the first half’s biggest 3s came courtesy of Battle dishes: He matched his career-high in assists (six) in the first half alone and finished with nine. He spent time at point guard, as has been the trend of late, but when his downhill drives were foiled, Battle was more than happy to distribute, setting up two of Buddy’s 3s and one of Hughes’ in the first frame.

“This was the most assists of his life,” Howard said of Battle. “You watch his evolution as a player. He’s trying to get better. That’s a part of his game he’s expanded.”

Right away out of the break, Battle set his career-high with a pass to Hughes in the right corner for another 3 and the second half’s first bucket. Then, Battle hit his first shot of the game, another 3, from the left corner. Hughes made a third in quick succession from deep a few minutes later.

SU’s effective perimeter shooting was enough to force Miami out of its 2-3 zone and into a man-to-man. That allowed Battle to get into the lane for an and-1, then set up Dolezaj on an alley-oop layup, forcing another Miami timeout with 12:20 to go and the Orange up nine.

“Pick your poison with us right now,” Howard said. “We’re playing good basketball.”

In two of Syracuse’s losses this season, to Oregon and Georgia Tech, SU was foiled by an inability to make 3s against zone defenses. Boeheim has frequently said that to beat zones players have to make shots.

It seems simple. Against the Hurricanes, Boeheim insisted that Syracuse took the same shots that it had in a 5 for 28 showing from deep against Oregon. There was a difference, though: They were made in bunches, enough to even force Miami out of its go-to alignment.

“Same shots we had against Oregon,” Boeheim said. “Exactly the same. You gotta make them, gotta make those shots. You make them, you get an assist.”

After Miami responded to a few drives by collapsing the lane, an ensuing drive by Battle set up another 3. Dolezaj hit his first of the game, and Hughes drained another, his sixth.

The Dome hadn’t seen this many made 3s by the Orange in two seasons, and the fans roared as deep ball after deep ball fell through. A late 3 by Hughes was changed to a 2, preventing the Orange from tying their all-time record of 15 3s in a contest.

“I felt like every shot was gonna go in,” Hughes said of his rhythm Thursday.

This was how it was supposed to be. Hughes brought a breed of knockdown shooter Syracuse hadn’t had last season. Battle’s shot was improved, as were Oshae Brissett’s and Dolezaj’s. Howard’s jumper received rave reviews in the preseason, and Gerry McNamara called Buddy a shooter in the vein of NBA star Klay Thompson.

Thursday, for one of the first times all season, Syracuse looked the part: Dynamic on offense and deadly from the perimeter. And in a way, that’s become the norm lately.

“It’s just like, ‘Finally,’ on our end,” Howard said. “It’s just like, ‘Yeah, there it is.’ We come in every day, put up a lot of shots… It’s just work paying off.”

Published on January 24, 2019 at 9:51 pm

Contact Billy: wmheyen@syr.edu | @Wheyen3