Syracuse rallies, escapes Le Moyne's upset bid

Jyare Davis recorded 22 points and 12 rebounds in his Syracuse debut, helping the Orange hold off visiting Le Moyne 86-82 on Monday in the season opener for both teams.

A graduate transfer from Delaware, Davis finished 7-of-9 shooting from the field and 8-of-11 from the foul line to lead five players in double figures. Chris Bell added 20 points, while J.J. Starling notched 14 points and Donnie Freeman chipped in 10 points and 11 boards in his first college game.

Le Moyne, located just five miles from Syracuse's campus, led for more than 24 minutes and outplayed the Orange for much of the contest. Freds Pauls Bagatskis led five Dolphins in double figures with 18 points and Will Amica had 12 points.

The Orange trailed by a point with under 6 1/2 minutes left until Starling's driving layup put them in front for good.

Davis followed with a layup, then Eddie Lampkin's jumper made it 73-68 with 5:10 to go. Davis scored the next three points, highlighted by a dunk with 4:31 remaining, to put the Orange in front 76-68.

Syracuse led 81-74 with under two minutes to go before consecutive 3-pointers from Trent Mosquera and Bagatskis made it a one-point game with 22 seconds left.

Jaquan Carlos split a pair of free throws for the hosts, then Nate Fouts committed a turnover on the ensuing possession. Bell's two free throws wrapped it up.

The Dolphins held an early 17-8 lead, but the Orange caught up at 21-21. The teams jockeyed back and forth until Bagatskis made a 3-pointer and a dunk in the final 2 1/2 minutes to help Le Moyne lead 41-36 at the break.

Early in the second half, Fouts scored five straight points to give the Dolphins a 55-50 edge. The visitors still led by five when Syracuse uncorked an 8-0 run to flip the scoreboard in its favor.

Bell's 3-pointer with 8:54 left put the Orange ahead 65-60, but two free throws by Jakob Blakley and Bagatskis' 3-pointer quickly brought the Dolphins even.

--Field Level Media