Buddy Boeheim and younger brother Jimmy Boeheim scored 18 points apiece Tuesday night as Syracuse took control in the opening minutes and cruised to a 97-63 rout of visiting Lafayette in the season opener for both teams.

Buddy Boeheim scored 14 points in the first half when Syracuse held a 22-point lead. He made 6 of 14 shots, handed out six assists and grabbed four rebounds in 35 minutes.

After leading Cornell in scoring at 16.7 points two seasons ago, Jimmy Boeheim added 18 in 25 minutes in his Syracuse debut. He hit his first five shots, made eight of nine overall and scored 11 points in the dominating first half.

Joseph Girard III paced the Orange with 20 points and seven assists. He scored 15 points in the first half when he hit all five of his 3-point tries and made six of nine shots overall in 25 minutes.

Cole Swider added 14 points and 12 rebounds in his Syracuse debut after transferring from Villanova. Jesse Edwards added 11 points and reached double figures in the final seconds.

The Orange shot 54.4 percent, sank 13 3-pointers and won a season opener for the 17th time in the past 18 seasons.

Kyle Jenkins and Leo O'Boyle scored 14 points apiece for Lafayette, which dropped to 0-9 all-time against the Orange. Tyrone Perry added 11 as the Leopards took their only lead on the game's first possession and shot a dreadful 34.3 percent.

Jimmy Boeheim scored 11 points and hit his first five shots as Syracuse took a 17-7 lead on his 3-pointer with 13 1/2 minutes remaining. A 3-pointer by Girard pushed the lead above 20 points for the first time at 32-10 with 8:13 remaining and he hit two more 3-pointers to give the Orange a 52-30 lead at halftime.

Seven straight points by Swider opened an 81-48 lead with 8:15 remaining and Jimmy Boeheim finished off his impressive debut by hitting a 3-pointer a little over five minutes later for an 86-59 edge.

--Field Level Media