After a week spent hyping up Saturday’s festivities, Syracuse men’s basketball (17-14, 10-10 ACC) made sure it didn’t ruin its own party inside the JMA Dome. In a 72-63 victory over Wake Forest (18-13, 10-10 ACC), SU got ahead early, stayed ahead, and used the emotion from a large dome crowd to coast past the Demon Deacons and cap the 2022-23 regular season with a victory.
The Orange are set to face Wake Forest in the second round of the ACC Tournament on March 8th, but SU made sure its effort in Round 1 between the two counted. Following a pregame senior celebration, Syracuse used the energy from a vibrant crowd to build early momentum. A 5-0 run to start the game for SU set the tone on a day when it rarely trailed and held the lead for the last 31 minutes of gametime.
Armed with a depleted offense minus injured guard and sharpshooter Damari Monsanto (knee), the Demon Deacons still tried to follow the playbook of Syracuse’s last few opponents. The Deacs tried a three-point barrage against Syracuse’s beleaguered 2-3 zone, but found limited success. Wake’s 39 three-point attempts marked a season-high for the high-scoring Deacs, but only 10 hit their intended target. Senior guard Tyree Appleby led the charge with 21 points, including a 5-of-14 mark from range, but could not jumpstart an otherwise sluggish offense. No other Deac finished with more than 11 points.
In the meantime, Syracuse’s offense went to work in the paint. Wake Forest big men Andrew Carr and Bobi Klintman both ran into early foul trouble, paving the way for forward Maliq Brown and center Jesse Edwards. Brown scored eight points and snagged nine rebounds, but SU’s centerpiece at the five stole the show.
Edwards’ 27 points tied a career high, and his 20 rebounds marked just the second time this season the Amsterdam native finished with 20 or more in a game (21 versus Bryant.) Edwards’ performance marked the first 20 point, 20 rebound game for the program in 14 years.
Syracuse finishes its regular season 17-14 and 10-10 in the ACC and guarantees itself a winning record on the year. 8 seed SU and 9 seed Wake Forest play again on Wednesday, March 8th in the second round of the ACC Tournament.
