If the previous five games proved to be difficult, the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team received a bit of a respite at home against the Oakland Grizzlies on Tuesday night. In what marked the beginning of a six-game homestand, Syracuse handled Oakland 95-66 as college basketball’s two longest tenured head coaches squared off.
The Syracuse seniors paced the offense once more as Jesse Edwards and Joe Girard got going early. Although Oakland was denying Edwards and made entry feeds difficult, Syracuse was still able to find him down low for easy buckets. The game was nip and tuck for the first 14 minutes, but Syracuse ended the half on an 18-0 run to take a 45-24 lead at the break as a Judah Mintz transition lay fell just before the halftime buzzer.