Junior guard Brandon Triche takes questions from the press following Syracuse University basketball's 85-67 win over UConn Saturday. Photo by Ned Campbell.
Syracuse — The Syracuse men’s basketball team Scooped its way past Connecticut on Feb. 11 to improve to 25-1 on the season.
A 22-6 spurt over the final 6 minutes, 30 seconds of the game, highlighted by guard Scoop Jardine’s 11 points during the span, allowed the Orange to blow open a close game en route to the 85-67 victory. It was a game of sharing for Syracuse, as four players scored 14 or more points.
Jamesville-DeWitt graduate and Orange junior Brandon Triche, though, didn’t have a very impressive game, finishing with five points on 2 of 6 shooting from the floor. After the game, he wasn’t visibly or vocally thrilled with his performance.
“I thought I did OK. Probably could have made a few more shots, but some days they go in, some days they don’t,” he said.
That’s the kind of season it’s been for Triche, who has started all 26 games thus far. He’s had his ups — a 20-point performance in a win over Florida and an 18-point night in SU’s tough victory over West Virginia — and his downs — he’s scored just 16 points combined in the Orange’s last three games (St. John’s, Georgetown, UConn).
Luckily for Triche, Syracuse is a team built with a bevy of weapons, meaning on any given night, any player can step up and take charge.
“That’s the beauty of our team,” said assistant coach Mike Hopkins. “Instead of having one or two guys who can take over a game, we have a whole bunch. Some nights it’s Scoop, other nights it’s Kris [Joseph], Dion [Waiters] or Fab [Melo]. Everyone on this team knows their role and will step up when needed.”
Triche has always been a scorer, as his 1,926 career points at J-D in his four years as a starter will show. His senior season saw him post 22.3 points per game and 6.7 assists. In turn, he’s always been a winner, too, helping the Rams take home consecutive state Class A titles.
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