8 takeaways from 96-51 win over Slippery Rock

8 takeaways from 96-51 win over Slippery Rock

Adrian Autry (Photo by Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports)

Syracuse finished their modest two-game exhibition slate at the JMA Wireless Dome on Wednesday night by defeating Slippery Rock, 96-51.

The Orange made 15 3-pointers, all in the game’s first 29 minutes, in cruising to victory.

Chris Bell hit five of the triples for the bulk of his team-high 17 points and Elijah Moore had four for his 12 points. Six other players had at least eight points for SU.

Here are some takeaways from the game:

Starting lineup looks closer to expected

The starting lineup was closer to what most people expected the Orange to use this season, as Jaquan Carlos and J.J. Starling started in the backcourt again, this time joined by a frontcourt of Chris Bell, Jyare Davie, and Donnie Freeman.

Lampkin limited

Eddie Lampkin Jr. did play for about five minutes in the first half, then did not return to the game after subbing out. Lampkin was suffering from some back soreness, which he noted is something that is an ongoing condition than something that will go away for good.

A dominant offensive performance

The Orange made seven straight shots from the floor as the backbone of a 21-3 run late in the first half that blew the game open.

For good measure, SU stretched that session of dominance to a 29-6 run over the seven minutes before halftime.

Slippery Rock goes cold

Slippery Rock played a supporting role in helping Syracuse put them away before the break. The guests shot 1-of-15 from 3-point-range in the opening half, including going 1-of-7 during that 29-6 streak by the Orange.

Late struggles

The Orange struggled late in the game, posting just 11 points in the last seven minutes before head coach Adrian Autry subbed in the walk-ons en masse.

The quintet on the floor for the bulk of that stretch was Kyle Cuffe Jr., Davis, Petar Majstorovic, Elijah Moore, and Lucas Taylor.

Without a true point guard on the floor, the offense seemed stuck in the mud for much of that span.