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Adrian Autry was fired up at the postgame podium, mostly conveying positive takeaways from Syracuse’s second straight narrow nonconference win to open its season.

The second-year head coach recognizes Syracuse has work to do but was passionate about its improved pace and rebounding. Additionally, he emphasized that the Orange are a good new team still trying to figure things out.

Yet, one glaring weakness frustrated Autry — SU’s transition defense.

“If there’s anything you’re going to write about, it’s our transition defense was not where it needed to be,” Autry said.

Syracuse (2-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat Colgate (1-2, 0-0 Patriot League) 74-72, but it was outscored 22-2 on fast break points. It marked the most fast break points SU has surrendered since allowing as many to Wake Forest in a 99-70 loss last season. The Raiders’ success in transition helped them hang around until the final minute, marking the second consecutive game Syracuse had to fight hard to notch a win.

Colgate’s transition prowess helped kickstart its offense. The Orange took a quick 7-2 lead, which Donnie Freeman tried increasing with a 3-pointer just over three minutes into the game. But his shot missed off the back of the rim, leading to an easy Brady Cummins rebound.

Cummins handed the ball off to Jalen Cox, who instantly sped downhill. J.J. Starling met Cox at the top of the 3-point key, but the sophomore guard’s momentum led him to easily fly by and get to his left for a layup. Cox scored a game-high 21 points, consistently killing SU in transition.

With Syracuse leading 11-8 six minutes in, the Raiders forced a turnover and again, Cox motored downhill. On a three-on-two, Starling and Chris Bell tried forming a wall near the free-throw line to contain another drive-by layup. So, Cox kicked the ball to Cummins, who splashed home a triple from the right wing.

“It comes back to getting back on defense, staying focused, not being worried about yourself and worrying about if you can stop them,” Bell said of Syracuse’s transition defense.

The Raiders took similar advantage of SU’s defense as the first half’s conclusion approached. Following three straight misses down low from Eddie Lampkin Jr. and Jyare Davis, Colgate pushed the pace creating a four-on-three — as Lampkin and Davis trailed behind. Chandler Baker then swooshed a high-arcing 3 that cut Syracuse’s lead to 30-28 four minutes before halftime.

“All week, ever since the summer, we’ve talked about and worked on transition defense,” Davis said. “It’s not (Autry’s) fault at all, it’s on us, we’re the ones who are out there. So we’re the ones who need to make sure we’re getting back, sprinting back and doing the things we’re supposed to do.”

After the tightly contested first half, SU nabbed a 13-point lead four minutes into the second half. But Colgate’s transition offense propelled a comeback. Trailing by 10, the Raiders forced Jaquan Carlos into a mid-range miss, putting the ball in Cox’s hands.

Though this time, he trotted up the court. Carlos met Cox near the 3-point arc. With no communication between him and Petar Majstorovic, a Jeff Woodward screen left the guard wide open. Cox nailed his only 3 of the game. Courtesy of back-to-back 3s two minutes later, the Orange saw their advantage trimmed to 57-55.

While SU’s lead boosted back to 64-58 after Bell connected on a 3, the forward had two opportunities to extend the lead to eight after the under-eight timeout. He missed both looks and Colgate hauled in the second miss, instantly passing the ball to Cox. Despite being the furthest player from half court when receiving the ball, Cox sprinted upcourt with Bell, Lampkin and Elijah Moore’s backs turned toward him.

Moore was the closest defender, but he unsuccessfully tried setting his feet near midcourt to stop Cox. As Cox blew past him, Carlos and Davis — who both got back defensively — didn’t crash the interior, instead keeping their attention toward the wings. Cox rattled in another layup.

“We just got to limit transition points,” Moore said. “They didn’t get too much in the half-court set, we did a decent job defending the half court. So, just making sure we limit transition points, we’ll be fine.”

Just over a minute later, Cox again buried the Orange in transition. After Moore missed a contested mid-range shot, Jones hauled in the rebound and dished the ball to Cox, who instantly sprinted up the court.

Carlos, Davis and Moore got back defensively before Carlos picked up Cox near the 3-point line. Davis trailed the play, but when Cox blew by Carlos, his eyes were looking down the court. This allowed Cox just enough room to slither left and bank home a layup, cutting the Raiders’ deficit to 66-64.

“I think we just got to get back and do a better job of building a wall on defense,” Carlos said. “I think that’s what we’re really struggling with. (We’re) buddy running a lot. I think once you build a wall back, we’ll have success playing defense.”

Syracuse’s lead grew to 72-67 in crunch time before another Colgate transition bucket cut its lead back down to a possession. While SU held on for the win, its poor fast break defense prevented what should’ve been an easier victory, with the game not coming down to the last possession.

Going forward, the Orange will face teams — in and out of conference — that are better in transition than Colgate. Against those squads, SU won’t overcome similar struggles.

“What I’m really not happy about is the 22 transition points, that just can’t happen,” Autry said.

Published on November 13, 2024 at 1:05 am

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon