SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Buddy Boeheim made four 3-pointers and finished with 23 points, Marek Dolezaj had 20 points — including two free throws with 22 seconds left — and Syracuse rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to beat Bryant 85-84 on Friday in the season opener for both teams.
Dolezaj, a 6-foot-10 senior, added a career-high nine assists and tied his career best with five steals. Quincy Guerrier scored 15 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds and Alan Griffin had 14 points and 12 rebounds in his Syracuse debut. Griffin, a 6-foot-5 transfer from Illinois, hit three 3-pointers.
Peter Kiss, a graduate transfer from Rutgers, hit a 3 to give Bryant its biggest lead of the game at 63-50 with 16:01 to play but Guerrier scored 10 points thereon, including back-to-back dunks in a 12-2 run that pulled Syracuse within three about four minutes later. Boeheim made a pair of 3s just 21 seconds apart and Joseph Girard III hit another 3-pointer to cap a 9-0 spurt and give the Orange their first lead of the second half at 75-73 with 6 minutes left.
Charles Pride made two free throws to give Bryant a two-point lead with 3:12 remaining but the Bulldogs shot just 1 of 10 the rest of the way, missing two potential winning shots in the closing seconds.
Chris Childs, a junior college transfer, hit 5 of 9 from behind the arc and finished with 18 points in his Bryant debut. Michael Green III and Pride had 15 points apiece. Kiss scored 12 and Hall Elisias added 11 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
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