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Chris Bell took one hesitation dribble and rose into a jumper over Boston College’s Prince Aligbe. Was it the right shot? Aligbe had given BC a 50-49 lead off of a lefty layup moments before. Bell had spent the last seven minutes on the bench.

But it was his favored left wing — the same one where he canned a 3 versus Colgate on Nov. 14 to knot the game at 70-70 and erase a 24-point deficit in an eventual Syracuse win. Once Bell sees daylight he usually pulls the trigger.

Bell’s attempt swished through and gave SU a 52-50 advantage with around six minutes remaining. The Orange never trailed again. The odds don’t have to be in Bell’s favor. The confidence is limitless.

“(I) was really happy to see Bell get some shots going down,” Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry said. “He hit a big one when they got back in the game late.”

Entering Wednesday’s conference matchup with Boston College, Bell bore single-digit scoring across four straight games. Seven and four against Pittsburgh and Niagara. Two at Duke. Zero versus Oregon. Fellow wing Justin Taylor shared Bell’s struggles — three points in Syracuse’s last two Atlantic Coast Conference contests on top of multiple scoreless outings throughout the 2023-24 campaign.

But hosting BC, following a depleting 86-66 away loss to the Blue Devils on Jan. 2, Syracuse’s starting wings overcame their recent shortcomings in a 69-59 victory. After combining for just three points at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the pair notched a joint 27 in SU’s (11-4, 2-2 ACC) bounceback win over the Eagles (10-5, 1-3 ACC).

“We need those guys as we continue to move further into our schedule,” Autry said of Bell and Taylor.

On consecutive possessions, within two minutes of the opening tip, SU built a 6-0 advantage. Forward Maliq Brown found Bell open on the right wing, who launched from straight on for the game’s first basket. Then, guard Quadir Copeland burrowed deep into the paint before kicking out to a wide-open Taylor at the top of the key for three more.

Kickstarted by their efficient shooting, the Orange led 8-0 early — a cushion which later extended to as many as 19 in a dominant first half showing.

With both hands resting on the postgame press conference podium, Autry voiced his pleasure with Syracuse’s quick start. He liked the pace and ball movement. He liked how the offense tried to get Bell and Taylor looks often.

Arriving midway through the opening half, Bell threw down a couple of dunks. The first came amid a miscommunication in Boston College’s transition defense. With all five Eagles eyeing J.J. Starling coming up the floor, no one picked up a Bell streaking down the right sideline. Receiving Starling’s pass in-stride, Bell flushed home a righty jam.

On the ensuing defensive trip, Bell blew up a dribble hand-off between BC’s Quinten Post and Donald Hand Jr. — the first of two steals. Sprinting ahead of the pack, he punched home a ferocious windmill.

“He’s just another tool. I think we play a little different when he’s out there hitting shots,” Syracuse point guard Judah Mintz said of Bell. “I mean, when we have somebody to space the floor like that, it makes it easier to play. He rained down 20 points today and it was pretty easy for him.”

For Taylor, his production in the scoring column wasn’t as prevalent. The highlights, if any, weren’t nearly as flashy as Bell’s. But the stepping stones to improvement were planted. Taylor’s seven points were hard-earned and exuded comfortability. He fired when uncontested. There was no air of hesitation. He drove to the basket aggressively, including a sweet hang-and-finish while absorbing contact from the 7-foot-0 Post.

“He hasn’t gotten 11 shots in a long time,” Autry said of Taylor. “I was very happy. I thought the ball was moving. I thought Quadir got him on a couple of really good passes. I thought J.J. hit him early. So, I thought that was really big, the way we started the game to get those guys involved.”

When the season started, Bell and Taylor were labeled as sharpshooters poised for breakout sophomore seasons. But aside from Bell’s career-high 25-point performance against Colgate, and Taylor’s season-best 15 versus Cornell, both are yet to find consistency. At times, pressure to perform and offer a scoring spark gets the best of either player. Ill-advised shots are occasionally thrown up. Turnovers result from forcing the issue.

In front of a home crowd in a 22-point defeat at Virginia on Dec. 2, Taylor peeled off an assortment of screens and fired away mercilessly, hoping one would fall. He finished 1-for-6 from 3. At Duke, Bell often pushed into the opposition half without numbers. He’d get caught in the air prematurely and cough up possession, quickly earning a seat next to Autry on the bench. It wasn’t any sort of deliberate self-sabotage. They just needed to see a make or chalk an assist. Anything on the offensive end. Anything.

But Boston College was different. The game seemed to come easy for Bell and Taylor — a much different script than games prior. Uncontested jumpers were given. Passes found shooting pockets. Confidence returned.

“Like with Chris, you try to get him shots,” Autry said. “You gotta shoot your way out of it and the only way that you can get out of whatever slump, you’ve just gotta keep shooting.”

Hopping over the outstretched fingertips of BC’s Chas Kelley III, the loose ball found Bell. With 1:23 remaining, Syracuse led Boston College 65-59. Positioned deep in the right corner, Bell took one dribble baseline and put up an awkward-looking shot as the shot clock expired. Kelly was draped all over him.

“If he knows he has enough room, he can hit the shot,” Mintz said.

Bell’s effort dropped to give SU a decisive 10-point advantage. Both he and Taylor have yet to live up to their lofty preseason expectations, but the reliability displayed in Wednesday’s potentially momentous victory, with No. 7 North Carolina waiting in the wings, shows promise.

Published on January 11, 2024 at 2:44 am

Contact Tyler: trschiff@syr.edu | @theTylerSchiff