Syracuse got back on track with a 76-53 victory over Boston College (9-9, 2-3 Atlantic Coast) on Saturday afternoon in the Carrier Dome. The Orange (11-7, 3-2) won its third straight home game to get back over .500 in conference play. Tyus Battle had a career-high 21 points and the Orange cruised to the blowout win.

Here are superlatives from the game.

Big moment — Syracuse’s 14-2 first-half run

Boston College took its first lead of the game, 13-12, just over seven minutes into the game. But after that, Syracuse exploded. Over the following nine minutes, SU forced BC to commit nine turnovers. The run was sealed by six straight points from Battle, including a 3-pointer that led to an Eagles timeout.

By the time the run was over, the Orange led, 26-15, with four minutes left in the half and Syracuse never looked back from there.

Stud — Tyus Battle

Battle opened the second half with a drive right through the heart of Boston College’s defense and finished with a lefty layup. On BC’s next possession, he intercepted a pass at the free-throw line and generated the Orange’s offense with a pass to John Gillon before a Tyler Lydon putback. Later in the half, he hit a 3 to put SU up 55-38 as the Orange rolled to victory. Battle finished with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting as well as three steals.

Dud — Ky Bowman

Bowman lit up the Orange with 30 points when the two teams played on New Year’s Day. He had scored at least 12 in each of Boston College’s last eight games. But SU kept the dynamic freshman at bay limiting him to just three points on 1-of-9 from the field.

Highlight — Tyler Lydon taking a charge

Already with a 17-point lead, Lydon set his feet and squared up as BC’s Jerome Robinson drove inside. Manning the center position, Lydon absorbed the contact and fell back onto the floor. It’s a play that will only show up in the box score as a turnover for Robinson, but Lydon’s willingness to sacrifice his body led to a Gillon layup on the other end.

Lowlight — Frank Howard’s missed 3-pointer at end of first half

With 18.1 seconds remaining in the half, SU head coach Jim Boeheim called a timeout as the Orange looked to extend its 13-point lead before the break. On Syracuse’s last possession of the half, Andrew White drove from the left wing into the paint. With BC’s defense collapsing, White dished to Howard in the right corner. Howard missed the 3, though. On Tuesday night against Virginia Tech, Boeheim said Howard looked like he was proving he can’t shoot jumpers and he missed again in a set-play situation.

Published on January 14, 2017 at 5:57 pm