Things haven’t been pretty for Syracuse in the early going, but another opportunity presents itself Saturday when the Orange host Youngstown State.

Syracuse (2-0) has slipped past Le Moyne and Colgate by a combined six points, barely escaping two local programs in games that easily could have gone the other way.

“It’s a new team,” head coach Adrian Autry said after Tuesday’s 74-72 home victory over Colgate. “We are still trying to figure things out.”

The Orange led 49-36 early in the second half but allowed the Raiders to get back in the game, much to the dismay of point guard Jaquan Carlos.

“When we go up 13, it has to go from 13 up to 19 and not down to four,” Carlos said. “I think we’ve got to do a better job of keeping our foot on their necks.”

Eddie Lampkin Jr. paced Syracuse with 15 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, while Chris Bell (14 points) and J.J. Starling (12) also made significant contributions.

Bell (17.0 points) is the team’s leading scorer on the young season, followed by Jyare Davis (15.0), who also has pulled down 21 rebounds over the first two games. Shooting has been a concern thus far, as the Orange are just 12 of 45 (26.7 percent) from long range.

Meanwhile, Youngstown State (1-1) opened its season with a 20-point victory over host Chicago State, but the momentum didn’t carry over into Monday’s 81-47 road defeat at the hands of No. 21 Ohio State.

Cris Carroll had 10 points against the Buckeyes, while Gabe Dynes chipped in nine points and three blocks. However, the Penguins shot only 23.7 percent from the field and 3 of 22 from 3-point range.

“Just shooting with confidence, I would say,” said the 7-foot-3 Dynes when asked what his team can improve upon. “We can shoot, we do shoot in practice, and then we just get to the game and sometimes it isn’t landing.”

This is the first-ever meeting between the schools.

–Field Level Media