Syracuse basketball’s exhibition against Niagara turned into a tug-of-war, but the Orange’s size won out in the end.
At KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Saturday afternoon, the Purple Eagles hung around longer than Syracuse would have liked. Niagara was down by 17 points in the first half, then trimmed that gap to 33-26 by halftime.
The resistance didn’t stop there. With roughly eight minutes left, the Purple Eagles were still within striking distance at 52-48.
That was as close as they got.
Syracuse leaned on its presence inside and pulled away in the paint, finishing off a 71-58 win in the third and final exhibition game for first-year head coach Gerry McNamara.
The Orange had already seen two different types of tune-ups earlier this month. They lost to UConn, 72-52, at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., then bounced back last Sunday with an 81-76 win over McNamara’s former team, Siena, at the MVP Arena in Albany, N.Y.
Now the focus shifts to the real thing. Syracuse opens its 2026-27 season on Monday, Nov. 2, against New Haven at the JMA Wireless Dome. Tipoff is set for 7:00 pm EST, with live-streaming coverage on the ACC Network Extra.
Against Niagara, McNamara used 11 players, and 10 of them scored. Everyone who got on the board finished with at least three points. Junior guard Aiden Tobiason did not play, which came as no surprise after McNamara recently said he would likely miss a few weeks because of an injury suffered in the loss to the Huskies.
Junior guard Gavin Doty was Syracuse’s leading scorer with 14 points to go with 13 rebounds. Junior center Luke Wilson added 12 points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. Fifth-year forward Amarri Monroe supplied nine points and seven rebounds, while freshman point guard Ryan Moesch posted nine points, three rebounds, six assists and four steals.
The Orange shot 44.8 percent from the field, 24.0 percent from 3-point range and 81.3 percent at the line. Niagara finished at 37.0 percent overall, 38.9 percent from deep and 68.8 percent on free throws.
Syracuse also controlled the glass and the interior. The Orange held a 43-24 edge in rebounds, outscored Niagara 36-18 in the paint and 13-2 in second-chance points, and finished plus-31 in bench scoring, 31-22. They also had advantages in blocks, 6-4, and fast-break points, 13-4, while the teams were even in assists at 13 apiece and points off turnovers at 11-11.
Niagara did create 14 turnovers, compared with nine forced by Syracuse, and the Purple Eagles kept battling throughout for Greg Paulus. But in the end, Syracuse’s size was the difference, and the Orange heads into the regular season with plenty still to clean up.
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