Like most people who tuned in to the Le Moyne-Syracuse exhibition game Monday night on SNY, I figured I’d be watching a 20- or 30-point Orange blowout.
Le Moyne College?
Never heard of it. Turns out it’s a Division 2 school also in Syracuse.
Well, a whole lot of people will know about Le Moyne now after the Dolphins — yes, that’s their nickname — downed the No. 25 Orange 82-79 thanks to sophomore guard Chris Johnson’s sixth 3-pointer of the night with 8.3 seconds left. (Johnson is pictured courtesy the Le Moyne website.)
Syracuse’s Wesley Johnson, who had hit a 3 from the left wing to put Syracuse up 79-78 with 22 seconds left, misfired on a 3-point attempt the other way. Can Ozkaner of Le Moyne then made 1-of-2 foul shots to send the Lemoyne fans into a celebration worthy of winning the national championship.
Wesley Johnson, the Iowa State transfer who sat out last season, poured in 34 points for Syracuse and certainly looks to be an NBA player in waiting. Read more about him in my recent feature.
“We executed and it came down to Chris Johnson making a huge 3 at the end. The play to Chris was a broken play and sometimes that’s the best way to get 3’s, when plays break down,” Le Moyne coach Steve Evans told SNY.
Chris Johnson scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half
Syracuse had beaten Le Moyne by 34 in its season opener last year.
This year’s win may be the biggest in program history.
“I’ve never had a bigger win at all. It’s an exhibition but I’m speechless. I’m glad we could win, especially in the Dome,” said 6-7 senior forward Laurence Ekperigin, who had 13 points and seven boards in the second half and finished with 20 and 11. (Note: Ekperigin grew up a stone’s throw from my parents house in Cortlandt Manor, N.Y. and attended Walter Panas High School.)
Evans, whose father, Stan “Buddy” Evans, and best friend, Gallagher Driscoll, are also on his staff, talked about what the win means for his program.“We’ve talked a lot about Le Moyne College,” he told SNY. “People in this community know about Le Moyne. We’re talking about branding our athletic program. We have a new athletic director, a new president. There’s a lot of nice new things happening at Le Moyne College and we’ve got a great basketball team. And if people want to come watch us play they’ll see some great talent at the Division 2 level…We play good basketball.” He added: “It’s a real special time to be at Le Moyne College.” On this night it certainly was. FREE THROWS Duke guard Nolan Smith was suspended two games for his participation in an unsanctioned summer league…Siena picked up a commitment from 6-7 power forward Melsahn Basabe of the St. Mark’s (Mass.) School. Basabe chose Siena over Virginia Commonwealth and Drexe, according to Pete Iorizzo of the Albany Times Union, and also received offers from Big East schools Seton Hall and St. John’s. “It was a hard decision,” St. Mark’s coach David Lubick told Iorizzo. “One of the things was that Siena was in it right from the beginning. And it wasn’t just that they were first, but it also was how strong their interest was throughout.” Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.
