Syracuse’s last exhibition before the games start counting for real came with a familiar face across the sideline and a lot for Gerry McNamara to sort through.
The Orange beat Niagara 71-58 on Saturday in Buffalo, with Syracuse native Greg Paulus leading the Purple Eagles as head coach. Syracuse led 33-26 at halftime after building a 17-point cushion early, then held on through a second-half push from Niagara.
Ryan Moesch and Gavin Doty were the biggest reasons Syracuse survived a stubborn opponent. Moesch drove the offense, Doty owned the glass, and together they helped the Orange shake off several rough stretches.
Syracuse burst out to a 10-0 lead before Niagara got on the board, then stretched it to 18-4 and 20-4 on back-to-back plays involving Moesch. First he found Amarri Monroe in the corner for a 3.
Then he picked off a pass and fed Monroe in transition. Later, Moesch set up Francis Folefac for a wing 3 as SU pushed the lead to 25-8 and looked ready to run away.
That didn’t happen. Niagara settled in, and Logan Woods started giving Syracuse problems. He scored 10 of the Purple Eagles’ 26 first-half points and knocked down two open 3s off screens, forcing McNamara to stop play and talk things over.
Moesch was clearly steering the attack better than Garwey Dual, who started and hit an early corner 3 but didn’t control the offense the same way. Dual went the whole first half without an assist, while Moesch had five. Both point guards logged 10 minutes in the half as McNamara mixed and matched lineups.
The Orange also controlled the boards early, finishing the first half with a 25-12 rebounding edge. Gavin Doty had five of those rebounds in 10 minutes. Niagara, meanwhile, wasn’t chasing the offensive glass much; the Purple Eagles mostly got back on defense after shots went up.
Syracuse also started Mark Morano at shooting guard after his strong showing at Siena, but Niagara was clearly prepared for him. He saw tight coverage all game and finished 2-for-6 overall and 0-for-4 from 3. The Orange, as a team, shot just 4-of-15 from deep in the first half.
Niagara’s offense continued to create issues after the break. The Purple Eagles worked through some clean sets, got open looks, and hit enough shots to keep the game uncomfortable for Syracuse. A Doty 3 had put the Orange up 46-33, but Niagara answered with three 3s around some high-low action and closed the gap again.
Doty, who had been quiet in Syracuse’s first two exhibitions, kept building momentum. Through his first 18 minutes, he had eight points and eight rebounds, and in the second half he took on more of an initiator role with Dual alongside him. He finished as Syracuse’s best player, posting 14 points and 13 rebounds, with all of his scoring coming after halftime.
With Syracuse ahead 50-41, McNamara emptied into a new lineup except for Sadiq White, who again ran into foul trouble. White picked up a third foul early in the second half on a call that looked questionable.
Syracuse also kept making life harder on itself by driving into traffic without accounting for help defense. Several times the Orange lost the ball or got tied up, and when Kiyan Anthony ran into that issue in the second half, Niagara turned it into points at the other end and cut the lead to 52-48 with 8:03 left. McNamara called timeout and Doty came back in for Anthony.
Niagara was still right there because it kept making shots and defending aggressively enough to force turnovers. The Purple Eagles were 8-of-15 from the field and 3-of-4 from 3 in the second half at that point, and they continued to hang around late.
Moesch answered with two straight baskets in the lane to push Syracuse back out to an eight-point lead, using the spacing around him to find room inside. He finished with nine points and six assists.
The final few minutes included more lineup shuffling, including Dual replacing Morano. Morano got beaten to the rim on a possession before a Niagara timeout, and then Niagara intentionally fouled Dual, who missed the free throw.
The biggest issue for Syracuse remains obvious: perimeter shooting. The Orange went just 6-of-25 from 3 against Niagara, and if that carries into the season, scoring is going to be a problem.
There were a few side notes from the night. Saturday was Francis Folefac’s birthday, and Syracuse noted that on social media before tipoff.
The arena was freezing. Nine Niagara players are international, including three from Italy and one each from Canada, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Slovenia, Argentina and France.
And the final rebounding total was Syracuse 43, Niagara 24.
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