All it took was one dribble in place and a quick jab step for Malachi Richardson to create space and knock down a 3-pointer from the left wing.

A minute later, he came off a screen on the same wing, planted his feet as he caught Michael Gbinije’s pass and swished a 3 in rhythm. On the next play, Richardson barked for the ball on the right wing and hit a transition triple that pushed Syracuse’s lead to 10 points and incited the first celebration of his college career.

A yell to the sideline crowd. Two animated head nods. Timeout Le Moyne.

“It felt good knowing that I could make shots, and be here in the Dome and make shots,” Richardson said. “It’s something I’ve been doing all my life. It was fun.”

It was only a preseason exhibition against Division-II Le Moyne, but SU’s three scholarship freshmen flashed their potential in the Orange’s 97-58 win over the Dolphins in the Carrier Dome on Monday night.

Richardson, who started at small forward, led his classmates with 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting and snagged seven rebounds. Freshman forward Tyler Lydon saw time at small forward, power forward and center and chipped in six points, six rebounds — five of which were offensive — three blocks and three assists. First-year guard Franklin Howard scored 10 points, shooting 3-of-5 from the field and 3-of-4 at the line.

“I thought Frank was good, Malachi was good and I thought Tyler was really active, that’s what he does,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. “… I thought they all did a good job.”

When Syracuse slowed down play in the second half, Richardson didn’t get as many looks and missed both of his 3-point attempts. But he made a strong move to the basket for a three-point play after the under-eight timeout, and threw a deft no-look pass to a cutting Gbinije for a wide-open dunk less than a minute later.

On that play, Richardson aggressively called for the ball on the right wing, read the defender in front of him and took one dribble toward the paint before hitting Gbinije in stride on the baseline. It was his only assist of the night, but showed an ability to break down a defense in the half court.

Lydon and Howard’s contributions weren’t as noticeable, but they each fit into the Orange’s spread-out offense and used length to their advantage in Syracuse’s zone. Lydon played center in SU’s three-forward lineup — a group Boeheim said he’ll definitely use this season — and extended five Orange possessions with offensive boards.

“I just try and do whatever I can. I do all the little stuff,” Lydon said. “I feel like that’s some of the best parts of the game, it’s just fun for me diving after loose balls and getting on the ground. It may be weird to say, but I almost enjoy getting hit sometimes. It keeps me motivated and it keeps me wanting to get the ball.”

In the game’s waning moments, the three freshmen retreated to the bench and gave way to a lineup of walk-ons.

Richardson, the most animated of the three, swung his legs in the air and laughed with assistant coach Adrian Autry when Autry’s son hit a 3 on the first shot of his college career. Lydon, pegged by his teammates as inquisitive, sat next to senior center DaJuan Coleman and pointed to something on the court. Howard, seemingly reserved, stood near the end of the bench and watched the last seconds tick off the clock through squinted eyes.

In three different ways, it was an encouraging night for Syracuse’s newest additions.

Published on November 2, 2015 at 10:40 pm

Contact Jesse: jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse