Syracuse aims to snap a three-game losing streak Saturday when it wraps up a West Coast trip with a game against Cal in Berkeley, Calif.
The Orange (9-12, 3-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) opened the road swing with a 70-61 loss to Stanford on Wednesday. Despite the result, Syracuse might have found a new player to lean on more heavily: Jaquan Carlos.
The transfer from Hofstra, who started his first 14 games for the Orange this season before moving to the bench, tied his season high in points (16) against the Cardinal.
It was the fifth time this season that Carlos scored in double figures.
“We got off to a slow start and I just tried to come in and bring energy to uplift,” Carlos said.
Syracuse coach Adrian Autry is optimistic about what Carlos can bring to the team moving forward.
“He’s had a rough start a little bit,” Autry said postgame. “Obviously the last couple of weeks he’s steadied the ship for us.”
Carlos is averaging 6.3 points per outing but has now led or co-led the Orange in scoring twice this season.
J.J. Starling is the top offensive threat for the Orange, putting up 17.9 points per outing, though he managed only seven points at Stanford on 3-of-16 shooting. It was only the second time in eight games since he returned from a month-long absence caused by a broken left hand that Starling failed to reach double figures.
The Orange bring a 1-5 road record into the game against Cal (11-10, 4-6). The Golden Bears saw their three-game winning streak end when their short-handed squad took a 76-65 loss to SMU on Wednesday in Dallas.
Cal played without leading scorer Andrej Stojakovic, who sat out his third straight game due to a hip injury, and leading rebounder Mady Sissoko, who was in concussion protocol.
“They killed us on the glass,” Cal coach Mark Madsen said. “Obviously, we were missing (Sissoko), we were missing (Stojakovic) … and that hurt us. They outrebounded us by 11. We couldn’t get that done, and we need to be better at that. …
“Our guys battled. We fought the entire time. Guys have been thrust into new positions on the court. I’ve got to do a better job coaching them and getting them more comfortable, faster at new positions.”
The Golden Bears now return home, where they are 9-3, including a 3-1 mark against conference opponents in January. It’s unclear if Stojakovic or Sissoko will be available to face the Orange.
–Field Level Media
