BLACKSBURG, Va. — Buddy Boeheim slouched his back forward and stuck his arms out in front as he inched up the court and toward the 3-point line hoping not to be seen, but with a presence that couldn’t be ignored. It was late in the first half, and the sophomore guard had erupted, scoring the last 18 points for the Orange. Buddy said there were stretches of Saturday’s game he couldn’t even remember, he was so deep in the zone he could hardly rationalize it after the game, more than an hour and a half later. 

The Hokies’ defense crept up, and Howard Washington waved him off. Buddy clapped. He wanted that. He’d seemingly wanted every last shot since his first shot air-balled and the crowd let him know it. He shuffled a few feet to the side.

“I just felt really good before the game,” Buddy said.

Buddy still lurked. The ball had a way of coming to him. And when it did once more, going up with it one more time hadn’t hurt him yet.

In a 71-69 win over Virginia Tech (13-5, 4-3 Atlantic Coast) in Cassell Coliseum, the Orange (11-7, 4-3) needed every point it could get to avoid a massive collapse and yet another season-sinking win, what would’ve been the umpteenth rendition of a game that was supposed to spell the end. The Hokies and the Orange are two of the most 3-point reliant teams in the nation. The Hokies exemplified that early, but then Buddy’s 18-point burst lifted the Orange above them.

Elijah Hughes’ shot was off, and the Hokies threatened, but Buddy’s omnipresence on the floor gave Syracuse an edge. When the defense faltered, and back-and-forth was the Orange’s only opportunity to hold on, they won the battle because for the whole game between these long-ball reliant squads, because SU had the best shooter on the floor.

“We like Elijah to do that,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said, “but right now Buddy’s even better probably.”

Late in the first half, one of Hughes’ shots misfired, the seventh of his first eight attempts in the game. He had warned of VT’s Wabissa Bede last game: he’s the type of defender you want to “kick in the nose.” A few times Bede got under Hughes. Hughes tried to post up, but many of his first-half looks fell short. Buddy left the court with a vibrant skip, yet Hughes sauntered slowly. The frustration of the game had boiled over at that point, and it was only about to get worse. The halftime mood should have been less somber — Syracuse led by eight — yet Hughes stared up at the ceiling and huffed. 

Out of the second half, the Hokies tightened up on defense. They denied the ball to Buddy and pressed up on Hughes as he tried to make plays with the ball in his hands. One time, Hughes muscled into the lane, turned and hit a jump hook plus a foul. Like a pressure cooker, the tension of earlier emerged all at once and for a second, Hughes looked like a menacing sculpture as he screamed. But the late arrival could only do so much.

The Hokies had already worked their way back, had already found their form, already slowed SU’s first-half hero. Multiple 3-pointers in a row cut the lead to three points midway through the second-half and then one point later in the game. But the Orange kept looking for Buddy. 

“This is a hard place to play, out here,” Hughes said. “But, somebody’s got to ball. Today was Buddy’s day.”

Buddy found a few open spots, converted on layups and even tried to post-up. He dug into his full arsenal, to show he’s not just a shooter. As Hughes tried to take control of the game, Virginia Tech switched its ball-denial. On one play, Hughes was denied on the wing, so Buddy got a pass up top, dribbled twice and hit a heavily contested jumper over his defender. He’d finish with 26 points on 20 field goal attempts, a career-high. 

“It was speechless to watch,” Hughes said. “And all game I was telling him no one can mess with him. And it paid off for us.”

With the Orange up eight points, a shot bounced off the rim and Buddy skied high for a rebound and his putback forced a foul. Quincy Guerrier bear-hugged him from behind.

As Buddy strolled off the floor when the final buzzer sounded, he spotted Gerry McNamara and flashed a wide grin. He put his arm around his coach. They had been joking all game: Did Buddy actually try to post up?

“You got it like that now?” Buddy remembered McNamara joked.

“Yeah, I’ve been working on my post game a little,” Buddy replied.

The two laughed. Buddy shook his head in disbelief. On Saturday, even he sometimes surprised himself.

Published on January 18, 2020 at 5:07 pm

Contact Michael: mmcclear@syr.edu | @MikeJMcCleary