SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Syracuse held on for a 84-82 victory over Notre Dame on Wednesday night at the Joyce Center. Elijah Hughes led all scorers with 26 points while Joseph Girard III played one of his most complete games of the season with 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Girard’s two free throws with less than 10 seconds left provided SU a four-point buffer it wouldn’t surrender. 

After dropping the first two games of the new year, Syracuse (12-7, 5-3 Atlantic Coast) has won four-straight Atlantic Coast games. 

Here are three takeaways from the win against the Fighting Irish (11-7, 2-5).  

Points in the paint

For the second-straight game, Syracuse scored in the paint more frequently than normal. The Orange, which are 332nd in the country in 2-point scoring, made eight 3-pointers on Wednesday night. Syracuse didn’t need to shoot from there. The opportunities were open near the basket, and those turned into 36 points in the paint. 

A game removed from being reamed out near SU’s bench by head coach Jim Boeheim, Bourama Sidibe scored twice on baby hook shots. He even flushed a basket in transition. Marek Dolezaj took his time with a few turnaround pivots as well, and Hughes found interior success too. 

With a top ACC big man in John Mooney down low for Notre Dame, Syracuse out-rebounded Notre Dame 41-34.

The book of Eli 

Consider this another chapter in the long book of Hughes’ unthinkable performances. It started like so many of them have. Hughes sank a 3. The next one — there’s always a next one — was followed by a head shake side-to-side. Less than four minutes into the game, it was clear Wednesday was going to be one of those nights. 

Hughes finished 9-for-19 and led the Orange in scoring. Several times, he dribbled into his defender down and rocked his back into the Notre Dame defender. When the UND player was sufficiently off balance, Hughes flipped his hips. In one motion, his leg swung through so his body faced the basket and he drilled the turnaround jumper. 

The eighth man? 

After Buddy Boeheim picked up a third foul and walked off the court to a “Who’s your daddy?” chant from the Fighting Irish student section, Brycen Goodine came on the court. Goodine made an immediate impact despite appearing in just two games over the last month. 

On his first offensive possession, Goodine charged the basket from the perimeter to snag a rebound off a Girard miss. His feed wouldn’t turn to points, but it did a few possessions later when Goodine grabbed another offensive board and found Sidibe for a layup. 

The freshman guard looked comfortable on defense and stayed active at the top of the zone. Late in the first half, Goodine sank his first collegiate 3-pointer after previously starting the year 0-for-13 from beyond the arc. The triple was followed by a Hughes 3-pointer on the next SU possession and gave it a 46-42 halftime lead. 

Four days after Boeheim praised Goodine’s play in practice and teased him as a potential eighth player in the rotation, Goodine responded.

Published on January 22, 2020 at 9:12 pm

Contact Josh: jlschafe@syr.edu | @Schafer_44