Syracuse basketball’s big day: Honoring Jim Boeheim, hosting recruits, beating Notre Dame

Syracuse, N.Y. ― After squandering almost all of a 29-point lead, the Syracuse Orange held on for an 88-85 victory over Notre Dame to save Jim Boeheim Day at the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday.

Notre Dame, which trailed 49-29 at halftime, missed two 3-pointers that could have tied the score in the game’s final 20 seconds.

Braeden Shrewsberry, who had made six 3-pointers, missed on one with 18 seconds left and then Markus Burton, who had scored 28 points, failed to connect on another with 3 seconds remaining.

The dome crowd finally exhaled only when Notre Dame’s last fullcourt heave fell short.

Syracuse improved to 18-10 overall and 9-8 in the ACC. Notre Dame, which had won its last three games, fell to 10-17 for the year and 5-11 in the conference.

Syracuse led by as many as 29 points, but Notre Dame used a 25-to-6 run that spanned the end of the first half and the start of the second half to narrow the margin to 55-45.

There were still 15 minutes left to play. Never had a 10-point margin felt more tenuous as Notre Dame had all the momentum and the Syracuse players lacked the focus that had staked them to the massive 49-20 lead.

The nervous anxiety could be felt throughout the dome.

Notre Dame’s Braeden Shrewsberry, the son of Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry, drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to trim Syracuse’s lead to 69-63 with 8 minutes remaining in the game.

Was Notre Dame about to ruin Syracuse’s Boeheim Day in the same fashion that North Carolina played the kill-joy at Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium two years ago?

Syracuse appeared to steady the ship, building its lead back to 84-74 on Judah Mintz’s jumper in the lane with 3:30 remaining.

But Shrewsberry sucked the air out of the dome with another pair of consecutive 3-pointers. His sixth triple of the day cut Syracuse’s lead to 86-80.

Julian Roper buried another 3-pointer from the corner in front of the Notre Dame bench, drawing the Irish to within 86-83 with 1:05 on the clock.

JJ Starling airballed a 3-pointer, but Quadir Copeland corraled the rebound. After a review, the shot clock was set at 5 seconds. Mintz drove to the basket, but missed his shot.

Notre Dame called timeout with 25.1 seconds remaining in the game and 20 on the shot clock. Shrewsberry then missed for the first time since the first half.

Syracuse’s Chris Bell made two free throws, but Burton drove in for a basket to make it 88-85 with 11 seconds left. Copeland missed the front end of a 1-and-1, giving Notre Dame one more shot to tie the game.

Burton’s 3-pointer was just off the mark.

Burton’s 28 points were one shy of his season high. All five of Syracuse’s starters scored in double-figures with Judah Mintz leading the way with 21 points.

Once the game ended, the Jim Boeheim Day festivities were able to begin with smiles instead of grimaces.

A host of former Syracuse players who either played for or with Boeheim at Syracuse were in attendance at the dome.

The list could have filled an entire record section in the school’s media guide. They included Dave Bing, Billy Owens, Lawrence Moten, Sherman Douglas, Danny Schayes, Rafael Addison, Gene Waldron, Tyus Battle and many, many more.

Boeheim spent the game watching from a baseline seat along with his wife, Juli, his former Syracuse teammate Dave Bing and SU alum Mike Tirico, who would serve as the master of ceremonies in the post-game ceremony.

During the game video testimonials were played on the dome’s massive scoreboards. Some the videos were taped by Krzyzewski, former SU assistant and current St. John’s coach Rick Pitino, former SU assistant and player Mike Hopkins and current assistant Gerry McNamara.

In addition to all the greats from the school’s basketball past, the Syracuse coaches also hosted a trio of recruits on Saturday. Sadiq White, a 6-8 junior at Myers Park High School in Charlotte, North Carolina; Matt Gilhool, a 6-10 junior center from William Penn Charter in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania; and Deron Rippey Jr., a 6-foot sophomore at Blair Academy in New Jersey, were all at the game.

Syracuse led 49-29 at halftime, but it felt like the Orange’s advantage should have been much larger.

Syracuse dominated the first 38 minutes of the first half. The Orange led 49-20 with two minutes remaining in the half. Syracuse had forced Notre Dame into 11 turnovers and converted them into a whopping 23 points.

But the Orange allowed Notre Dame to go into the halftime locker room on a positive note as the Irish closed the half on a 9-0 run. On the final sequence in the half, Syracuse turned the ball over and Roper banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer, turning the dome fans’ cheers to groans despite the 20-point lead.

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