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ONONDAGA, N.Y. – Dee Bost strolled up the court.

Boeheim’s Army needed just one more point to reach the target score of 87 and finish their opening round matchup against India Rising. 

Marek Dolezaj set a screen at the top of the three-point line and Aryan Sharma sagged off of Bost, affording the new Boeheim’s Army member some space a few feet behind the arc.

Bost saw his chance and took it, sinking a three-pointer to send Boeheim’s Army into the second round of The Basketball Tournament and put an exclamation mark on his team-leading 18 points.

Bost ran down the court, where his teammates mobbed him. Former Boeheim’s Army captain and current assistant Eric Devendorf reached him first and embraced the scoring guard.

On a night where D.J. Kennedy and DeAndre Kane, who have combined for 11 TBT championships, totaled just nine points combined, several of Boeheim’s Army’s newcomers stepped up in the 90-62 win over India Rising.

On his third TBT team in three years, Bost wasted no time familiarizing himself with his new Syracuse fans, dropping 18 points.

Fellow newcomers followed his lead. Matt Morgan, a Cornell graduate playing on Boeheim’s Army for the first time, tied for second on the team in scoring with 16 points.

In addition to Bost and Morgan’s team-leading performances, fellow new additions Rakeem Christmas and Jimmy Boeheim, both Syracuse alumni, scored eight points each, while both Tyler Ennis and Marek Dolezaj added four. Jimmy was signed just four days ago, fresh off a stint on the Detroit Pistons Summer League squad and playing for his father and the Orange in his graduate season.

“It’s different,” Kennedy said. “It’s pretty much a new group besides a few of us but it’s a bunch of great guys as individuals so I think that helps a long way.”

In addition to Morgan’s 16 points, he also added six boards and tied with Ennis for the team lead with four assists. Morgan shot 2-4 from the three, showing the shooting prowess that made him Cornell’s record holder for three pointers made in a game (9) and attempts in a career (885).

Morgan also made a behind-the-back pass to Andrew White for an emphatic dunk to give Boeheim’s Army a 20-point lead midway through the third quarter.

“I think Matt was big for us,” Kennedy said. “He’s new, of course there’s other new guys, but just to see him come in and contribute right away with instant offense. I think he’s going to be key for us as we keep moving forward.”

Boeheim’s Army started the contest a bit slowly. They turned the ball over on their first possession and missed a layup on their second. India Rising jumped out to a 5-0 lead. But that lead was short-lived. Tyler Ennis scored a layup off an inbounds play midway through the first frame to make it 11-10 – an advantage Boeheim’s Army held for the remainder of the game.

Boeheim’s Army quickly found their groove to lead by seven points at the end of the first quarter and 16 at halftime.

“We was able to come out here and find some chemistry,” Kennedy said. “Our first game can always be tricky, being that guys have never played with each other, so I think that the first game was good for us as far as guys finding rhythm and chemistry.”

Against India Rising, Bost and Murphy stepped up, as well as Boeheim’s Army veteran Andrew White III, who scored 16 points. But C.J. Fair knows it could be another player Saturday against The Nerd Team.

“You never who whose night it might be so everybody’s got to step up each and every day,” Fair said.

Tyler Ennis struggled to score, recording just 4 points on 2-of-9 shooting. The former first round pick took more of a role as a facilitator by dishing out four assists. But as the Boeheim’s Army player with the most NBA experience, he is a candidate to bounce back in the second round.

After the game, Morgan slapped the Boeheim’s Army tile onto the second round of the TBT bracket poster, cementing the newcomer’s place in the defending champions’ attempt to win the Syracuse regional and reach Dayton next weekend.

“I think they’re adjusting well,” Fair said. “Everybody on the team is a pro somewhere and we all know the goal is to win by any means necessary.”

Published on July 23, 2022 at 12:17 am

Contact Connor: cpignate@syr.edu