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After starting in two of 29 games played in his freshman season, Justin Taylor has been handed a much larger role under Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry. He’s started in all six games to begin SU’s 2023-24 campaign, and was averaging 11.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game through three contests.

Then came the Allstate Maui Invitational. Taylor went ice cold. He didn’t score a point through Syracuse’s losses to No. 7 Tennessee and No. 11 Gonzaga, going a combined 0-for-9 from the field and 0-for-6 from 3-point range. In the seventh-place game against Chaminade, Taylor was 0-for-6 in the opening half, including four misses from deep. Despite the cold spell, Taylor never wavered.

“I just gotta keep my trust in it,” Taylor said. “I just kept on shooting and eventually, they fell.”

Taylor’s second half performance was night and day from his 0-for-15 start to the Maui Invitational. He dropped 14 points off 5-for-8 shooting, drilling three 3-pointers and helping put an emphatic stamp on Syracuse’s (4-2, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) dominant 105-56 victory over Division II Chaminade (1-5, 0-1 Pacific West Conference) Wednesday. During the final 20 minutes, Taylor led all scorers as SU’s Kyle Cuffe Jr. was the lone other player who had double digit points in the second half. He also had a career-high 10 rebounds, totaling his first-ever double double.

Wednesday, Taylor took the most shot attempts for anyone on the Orange with 14, consistently getting open looks. He didn’t get going until he buried his first 3-pointer early in the second half.

The Orange held a 52-18 lead entering the last 20 minutes. Chaminade scored four straight to start the half, causing Syracuse head coach Autry to call a timeout in frustration. The Silverswords turned over Quadir Copeland and Ross Reeves nailed a jumper in transition right out of the break to make it a six-point run. Then, Taylor took over.

As SU moved the ball around the perimeter, Taylor rotated from the right corner to the left. Copeland received a pass from Judah Mintz at the left wing and instantly swung it to an uncovered Taylor. Without hesitation, Taylor drained his first shot of the contest to end Chaminade’s run at the 17:42 mark of the second half.

Less than two minutes later, Taylor patiently waited beyond the arc in the left corner. He received a feed from J.J. Starling, who screened Reeves. Taylor took one dribble to his right, getting into open space off Starling’s screen and knocking down the 3 to give Syracuse a 62-26 advantage.

Autry said postgame that heading into SU’s next game, the ACC/SEC Challenge versus Louisiana State, it needs to improve at freeing up its shooters with ball screens. Starling’s pick on Reeves to give Taylor room exemplified his sentiment. While it was easier to come by against a D-II program, the Orange shot 56.4% and 40% from 3 Wednesday. Autry praised his team’s ability to stay persistent despite its previous shortcomings in Hawaii.

“I think it was good for these guys,” Autry said of SU’s shooting against Chaminade. “We didn’t shoot the ball well offensively (in Hawaii).”

No one needed a strong showing as much as Taylor. In Syracuse’s double digit losses to Tennessee and Gonzaga, Taylor often forced contested shots that didn’t fall — the result of SU’s failure to free up shooters. It was the same story early in the win over Chaminade, as Taylor increased his scoreless streak to two-and-a-half games.

In the second half, though, Taylor carefully picked his spots and executed on clear looks, rather than throwing up ill-advised shots. On Syracuse’s next possession, after Taylor converted his second 3-pointer, he got a feed in the left corner from Mintz.

Reeves converged on the hot hand and instead of firing a contested 3, Taylor pump faked, took one dribble to the right and rose up for an open pull-up from mid-range. His shot initially bounced off the rim but ultimately fell in, giving the Orange a 64-29 lead with 15:31 to play.

On his next attempt, Taylor increased his second-half scoring output to 11 less than six minutes in. Mintz possessed the ball on the left wing as Chaminade’s Isaac Amaral-Artharee tightly guarded Taylor at the top of the key. Mintz blew by Reeves and got into the lane, causing Amaral-Artharee to help. Mintz dished to Taylor who was freed up again and drained his third 3-pointer of the half.

Taylor’s dominance after the break prevented the Silverswords from cutting into Syracuse’s lead. He went quiet for nearly the remainder of the second half, as Chaminade focused more on Taylor.

Up 99-52 with 2:20 left on the clock, Taylor capped off a blowout win for the Orange on his final bucket of the evening. Chris Bell let a catch-and-shoot chance loose from the left corner. Stationed at the right wing, Taylor charged at the rim to secure a potential miss from Bell.

After controlling the offensive board, Taylor leapt for a put-back attempt and banked the lay-in, while drawing a shooting foul on Matt Fegurgur. Taylor drained the ensuing free throw, completing the 3-point play.

Taylor’s best outing of the season was exactly what the Orange needed to see out of one of their secondary scorers. Though it happened in a consolation game versus a low-level Chaminade team, Taylor’s performance showed what SU can accomplish when its offense creates space for its top shooters.

“Obviously we have some things to work on defensively and offensively,” Taylor said. “I think we have all the pieces we need, it’s just about playing together better.”

Published on November 23, 2023 at 2:32 am

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews