Syracuse rallies and escapes Le Moyne's angry bid

Jyare Davis scored 22 points and 12 rebounds in his Syracuse debut, helping the Orange beat Le Moyne 86-82 in both teams' season openers on Monday.

A Delaware graduate, Davis shot 7 of 9 from the field and 8 of 11 from the foul line, leading five players in double figures. Chris Bell added 20 points, while JJ Starling scored 14 points and Donnie Freeman contributed 10 points and 11 boards in his first collegiate game.

Le Moyne, located just five miles from Syracuse's campus, led for more than 24 minutes and outscored 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 less than 6 1/2 minutes left until Starling's layup gave them the lead for good.

Davis followed with a layup, then Eddie Lampkin's jump shot made it 73-68 with 5:10 left. Davis scored the next three points, highlighted by a dunk with 4:31 left, to give the Orange a 76-68 lead.

Syracuse led 81-74 with less than two minutes left before Trent Mosquera and Bagatskis scored consecutive three points and it became a one-point game with 22 seconds left.

Jaquan Carlos dished out two free throws for the hosts, then Nate Fouts scored on a turnover on the ensuing possession. Bell's two free throws tied the game.

The Dolphins had an early lead of 17:8, but the Orange caught up with 21:21. The teams battled back and forth until Bagatskis made a 3-pointer and a dunk in the final 2 1/2 minutes to give Le Moyne a 41-36 lead at halftime.

Early in the second half, Fouts scored five straight points to give the Dolphins a 55-50 lead. The visitors were still leading by five points when Syracuse went on an 8-0 run to turn the score in their favor.

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

–Field level media