105 - 56 
Syracuse salvaged its final game in the Maui Invitational to return home above .500 on the year.
Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images
The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team wrapped up its trip in Honolulu, Hawaii, with a 105-56 win over the Chaminade Silverswords. The Orange (4-2) edged the Silverswords (1-5) 54-28 in the paint and finished the Maui Invitational with a 1-2 record.
Adrian Autry went with the same starters for the sixth straight game in Judah Mintz, JJ Starling, Chris Bell, Justin Taylor and Naheem McLeod. Syracuse jumped out to an 11-3 lead behind the hot shooting of Bell. The sophomore forward had seven points.
After not playing in the Gonzaga game, Benny Williams came off the bench for Syracuse at the 13:24 mark. He missed his first jumpshot but scored on a fast break to give the Orange a 25-7 lead at the second media timeout. Williams scored six first half points and grabbed one rebound.
Quadir Copeland entered the game and immediately made an impact off the bench. He had a tomahawk dunk on a quick drive from the left wing and followed that up with a nice pass to Maliq Brown for a slam. His offensive rebound and putback.
Syracuse was able to rebound the basketball without much difficulty for the first time this season. The control of the glass allowed the Orange to push pace and dictate tempo. Syracuse turned a 33-16 first half rebounding edge into 10 fastbreak points. With McLeod facing little resistance at the rim, the 7-foot-4 big man had 11 first-half points to lead all scorers. The Orange also owned a 30-4 point in the paint edge and went into the half leading 52-18. Bell and JJ Starling had 10 points each at the intermission.
Out of the break, Taylor was able to score his first points of the event after connecting on a three. He’d hit again from outside and connect on a pull up two as Syracuse led 64-32 at the first media timeout of the second half.
Taylor continued the hot shooting as he found nylon on his ninth three point attempt right after. From there, Williams had an emphatic swat out of bounds but was whistled for a technical after staring down a Chaminade player.
Kyle Cuffe had a nice stretch midway through the second half where he buried a three, then finished a contested layup on the break before connecting on another triple from the right wing. Bell picked it up from there, burying his third triple of the game and knocking down a pull-up two for his 14th and 15th points.
Down the stretch the Silverswords never threatened. Maliq Brown broke into double-figure scoring after converting seven straight points for the Orange during one stretch. One of his buckets came on a put-back and two came from rolls — his second a three-point play.
Peter Carey entered the game with four minutes left and Bell hit another three for good measure as Syracuse put this game away. Taylor finished off a three point play late to get Syracuse over the century mark for the first time since a double-overtime game against Indiana in 2021.
Autry emptied the bench late and deployed the walk-ons. Niko Ruffin knocked down a three for his first points in a Syracuse uniform.
Final stats
Syracuse finished 44-78 (56%) from the floor and 12-30 (40%) from three. The Orange won the battle of the boards 55-30.
Bell led all scorers with 18 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Taylor recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Six Orange players scored in double figures.
McLeod was one rebound shy from his first college double-double. Copeland was one rebound and two assists shy from a triple-double.
Next up
Syracuse returns home to host LSU next Wednesday in the first ACC/SEC Challenge. That game tips at 7 pm EST from the JMA Wireless Dome and will air on ESPN2.
