Veteran Devendorf sparks Syracuse win
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Jim Boeheim knows his youthful Syracuse Orange will test his mettle, and he's ready for the challenge.
Eric Devendorf converted a four-point play to give Syracuse the lead for good with 5:12 remaining as the Orange rallied from behind to hold off Division II Saint Rose 80-71 in an exhibition game Sunday.
Boeheim played four of his five freshmen, with only Sean Williams sitting out the entire game, and they combined for 36 points, 12 assists, and eight turnovers.
"I have to be patient with them," Boeheim said. "I realize they're going to make mistakes and it's going to take time for us to develop. Every game is going to be a lesson. Some things aren't going to be pleasant lessons."
Syracuse and its heralded freshman class seemed poised for a rude college awakening until Devendorf, a junior guard, hit a 3-pointer from the right corner as he was fouled.
Devendorf made the free throw to give Syracuse a 66-63 lead just 20 seconds after Robinson's pullup jumper had given the Golden Knights a surprising 63-62 lead.
"I'm experienced, obviously. When it comes down to those situations in the game, I feel comfortable with the ball," said Devendorf, who finished with 16 points. "I feel comfortable with the freshmen having the ball in their hands so they can make plays, too. But at the end of the game, I'm going to try to be the guy to go to."
Syracuse outscored Saint Rose 14-8 over the final minutes to avoid an upset.
"I thought maybe the lights would go out or something and we could just call it," Saint Rose coach Brian Beaury joked. "I really wasn't so much plugged into 'Wow! We're here in Syracuse up a point with five minutes to go.' I was caught up in the game, not the moment."
And the Golden Knights had their moments. Saint Rose had nine returning lettermen, including three starters from a team that went 22-10 a year ago and advanced to the postseason for the 10th time in 16 seasons.
"Their youth, our trapping, he (Boeheim) played more guys than we did and we stayed pretty much with a veteran crew just to try to compete," Beaury said. "The last thing I want to do is to come out here and not be competitive for Syracuse. I don't want it to be a wasted game."
It wasn't.
"This was a tremendous experience," Boeheim said. "Saint Rose did a tremendous job. They moved the ball as well as anybody we'll play. They exposed things defensively it will take a long time to work on. It was a really good game for us in terms of how they played, the patience they had. We had a little rhythm early and kind of got out of it."
Freshman Donte Greene also had 16 points, all in the first half, Paul Harris had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Arinze Onuaku 10 points and 10 rebounds for Syracuse. Freshman Jonny Flynn finished with 7 points, nine assists and had just 1 of the Orange's 21 turnovers. Scoop Jardine had 7 points, and freshman classmate Rick Jackson and Kristof Ongenaet, a junior college transfer, each had 6.
Guard Josh Wright, the lone returning senior scholarship player for the Orange, did not play because of an injured ankle.
Robinson and Steve Dagostino led Saint Rose with 17 points apiece, Will Monica added 14 and Malcolm Williams 11.
Led by Greene, Syracuse built a big early lead. Greene's tip, a driving layup by Devendorf and Jackson's turnaround dunk made it 39-24 with 3:44 left in the opening half.
Unfazed, the Golden Knights scored the next 12 points. Dagostino hit a pair of 3-pointers from right wing and fed Williams for a layup, and Jermaine Clark completed the surge with a fast-break layup to make it 39-36 at halftime.
"We're young. You saw at times out there we can be a really talented team and other times we show our inexperience," Devendorf said. "There's going to be bumps and bruises during the season, but we're going to be all right."
Saint Rose pulled within a point three times in the first two minutes of the second half before the Orange pulled away again.
A two-hand slam dunk by Onuaku and a 3-pointer from the left corner by Devendorf off a feed from Flynn gave Syracuse a 50-42 lead with 16:11 left.
But Syracuse was just 12-for-23 from the free throw line and the Golden Knights rallied to take a 61-60 lead on Dagostino's 3-pointer with 7:05 left.
"We weren't really worried," Greene said. "It was more of what we needed to do. We just had to buckle up and we did."