SALT LAKE CITY — Syracuse’s (20-14, 10-8 Atlantic Coast) season ended on Thursday night against Baylor (20-13, 10-8 Big 12), 78-69. The Orange couldn’t keep up with a record-breaking night from 3 for Baylor. A year after going to the Sweet 16 with three wins in five days, Syracuse couldn’t win a 2019 NCAA Tournament game.

Shooters shoot

Nobody would’ve mistaken Baylor or Syracuse for 3-point shooting standouts entering Thursday’s game. Neither had any shooters who shot 40 percent or better from deep on the season. But the first half was a different story on Thursday.

Before the break, Baylor made 10-of-18 from deep, and Syracuse went 9-of-17 on its triples. Elijah Hughes had five 3s for SU. Makai Mason had four for the Bears. Mason hit one from the logo. Baylor guard Jared Butler banked one in from beyond the arc. Tyus Battle hit a 3-pointer even while being fouled in the corner. The teams combined for just over 54 percent from deep in the first 20 minutes.

The shot-making persisted in the second half. Baylor’s King McClure hit two early on. Battle hit one off a pull-up from beyond the arc. It looked like the team that maintained the hot shooting might have the edge. And it was Baylor. The Bears finished with 16 made 3-pointers, the most ever made against Syracuse in an NCAA Tournament game.

Guitar almost hero

Elijah Hughes didn’t sit a minute at the ACC tournament with the Orange missing Tyus Battle. And Syracuse needed every bit of offense he could provide with Frank Howard out on Thursday night.

Most times Hughes drove, he was stifled. Players slid in front and kept him confined to the perimeter. But he didn’t seem to mind, instead just sizing up a defender with a few crossovers before pulling knock-down 3-pointers in their face en route to 18 first-half points.

After his fifth 3, he was standing right next to Baylor head coach Scott Drew, and someone must’ve said something to him from the Bears’ bench, because he turned and stared down the line.

Hughes didn’t score in the opening 12-plus minutes of the second half. Then he took an apparent shot in the face and took a seat on the SU bench. When he returned, he hit a 3 from the top of the key to make it a six-point game. Then he made it to the foul line off a 3-point attempt and made all three to reach a career-high 25 points. But it wouldn’t be enough.

Mr. March

Three years ago, Makai Mason upset Baylor in the NCAA Tournament with Yale. Thursday, he keyed the Baylor win as a nine-seed over eight-seed SU.

He hit a first-half 3 from the center-court logo. He threw no-look passes for assists. Even as he battled through an apparent leg injury, sitting at times, riding a sideline bike at others, he kept coming back in to control the pace of the Bears offense.

With under three minutes to play, he missed a left wing 3, but followed up the miss for a rebound and a left elbow jumper to put the Bears up five.

Mason finished with 22 points and proved he’s a weapon in March.

That’s it

With the conclusion of Syracuse’s season comes the conclusion of two scholarship seniors’ careers: Paschal Chukwu and Frank Howard. Chukwu finished with seven points in the final game of his career. Howard didn’t play due to suspension.

It also could mean the end for SU star Tyus Battle. He declared for the NBA Draft a year ago and participated in the pre-draft combine before withdrawing his name from consideration. Now a junior, Battle could choose a similar route, although no mock drafts list him better than around the 50th pick, a low second-rounder in a two-round draft.

Walk-ons Adrian Autry Jr., Ky Feldman and Antonio Balandi also suited up for Syracuse for the final time.

Published on March 21, 2019 at 11:59 pm

Contact Billy: wmheyen@syr.edu | @Wheyen3