PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — Trevor Cooney was the center of attention. The literal spotlights of the intimate Imperial Ballroom seemed squared in on him as he ran up the court, arms flexed at his sides.

The senior needed three points to reach 1,000 entering Wednesday. But his 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the first half gave him 15. It gave Syracuse 50. The Orange had doubled Charlotte’s score.

“It felt good to knock down the first couple and really get going in the game,” Cooney said. “I just played well today.”

And Cooney wasn’t the only one. Syracuse connected on 14 of its 28 3-point attempts, falling one shy of tying a program record. The Orange (4-0) shot better from behind the arc than it did from the field and defeated Charlotte (1-3), 83-70, in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicates.

Michael Gbinije had 26 points on six 3s. Cooney had 19 on three. Freshmen Malachi Richardson and Tyler Lydon combined for five more. For much of the afternoon, it was clinical.

“They hit some early from the 3-point line and really got it going,” Charlotte head coach Mark Price said. “We were never able to contain them from the 3-point line.”

The first 3 was by Gbinije off a pass from Dajuan Coleman on the high block. The third was a 3 from the top of the key from Cooney, who passed the 1,000-point plateau with the off-the-dribble jumper. The fourth, also by Cooney, this time on a fadeaway, capped off a 17-0 run for the Orange that put it up 19-3.

The fans in the arena were partisan for Syracuse. The seating is shrouded in darkness to illuminate the court, but they made their presence known with each make. They gave ovations as players were subbed out. They were wholly oblivious as the Orange approached a long-ball record, but fell in love as each swished through the net.

“We spread the ball,” Kaleb Joseph said. “We got in the lanes and we created a lot of scoring opportunities for each other.”

All but two of Syracuse’s 3-pointers were assisted. Syracuse had 19 assists, the most all season and a number that was surpassed in only four of SU’s 31 games in 2014-15.

The last time the Orange had 15 3-pointers in a game, it was 2007. SU scored 125 points that game and won by 50. It was only a part of the offensive onslaught.

On Wednesday, it was almost the entirety. It accounted for more than half of SU’s scoring.

The 10th 3-pointer came in the second half after Charlotte went on a 12-0 run to cut a 25-point lead nearly in half. It was Malachi Richardson that knocked down a pull-up jumper to end the stand-and-clap.

Gbinije made the 14th on an assist from from Tyler Lydon, who pump-faked before passing. He was so wide open that he took a moment to shoot. When he did, it swished.

On the next two possessions, Syracuse tried unsuccessfully to get to 15. Gbinije had another open look, and so did Lydon. With 2:42 left, Richardson heaved one as the shot clock ended but it was nowhere close. There wasn’t a record to be set on Wednesday, but still, a perfect start to the season to keep in tact.

And with the long ball continuing to fall, the Orange kept going to the well, and it sustained SU’s win.

“We shot the ball,” Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. “If we shoot like that, we’re going to beat a lot of people.”

Published on November 25, 2015 at 4:40 pm

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3