
After narrowly beating Northeastern on Saturday afternoon, the Syracuse University men's basketball team blew out visiting Stonehill on Monday night at the JMA Wireless Dome.
The Orange are now 9-4 on the season while the Skyhawks are 3-10. They are 0-8 on the road.
For Syracuse, this was the conclusion of non-conference play. Atlantic Coast Conference play begins on Dec. 31 against Clemson.
Here's what you need to know:
For the second straight game, George cracked the 20-point plateau, finishing with 22. The Georgia Tech transfer was 7-of-12 from the floor and 3-of-5 from three-point range. He also went 5-of-7 at the foul line and had three assists.
If the Orange can continue to get solid performances from him, the offense looks much different.
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--In addition to George, three other members of the Orange were in double-figures, including JJ Starling (20), Nate Kingz (13) and Sadiq White Jr. (13).
--The Orange shot 48 percent from the floor (27-of-56) while the Skyhawks were 14-of-53 (26 percent).
--Syracuse also shot well from three-point range (43 percent), going 9-of-21. The Skyhawks were 9-of-25 (36 percent).
--Syracuse struggled again at the foul line, going just 14-of-29 (48 percent). They entered play as the second-worst free-throw shooting team in the nation.
--SU outrebounded Stonehill by two, just 42-40.
--The Orange had 12 blocks, marking the second time they've had more than 10 in a game this season. That hadn't happened once in the previous five years.
--SU forced 15 turnovers while committing just five.
--On the negative side? Will Kyle III had only three points and the Orange got only six total points from the bench.
Starling continues to assert himself offensively after missing time with injury at the beginning of the season. His 20 points came on 8-of-17 shooting, but he only went 2-of-6 from three-point range and the foul line. He had four assists and two steals as well.
The free-throw line, obviously, but the bench play needs to improve. Tyler Betsey (0) and Kiyan Anthony (4) have both had big games this season, but this one will be a forgettable one before the league opener.
As we learned on Saturday, big man Donnie Freeman is expected back for that contest against Clemson. He's missed nine games with a right foot injury.
That game on Dec. 31 is slated for 2 p.m. ET.
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