Syracuse, NY- Receiving positive feedback from the Syracuse men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim is something to build on for the Le Moyne Dolphins this upcoming season.

“Really good. We had to extend ourselves. When we were at a certain level, they were right there with us,” Boeheim said.

Kobi Nwandu is one of the many fresh faces on the 2018-2019 Le Moyne Dolphins men’s basketball team. Nwandu transferred from East Stroudsburg University and he led the Dolphins with 14 points in the Carrier Dome on Wednesday night.

“It was just a feel when I was on my visit, Coach Beilein has been a very successful coach and the Le Moyne’s offense really fit me well,” Nwandu said.

Le Moyne started the game on a 9-2 run after three straight three point buckets were made. The first two came from Tyree Chambers and the third from CJ Asuncion-Byrd, giving Le Moyne a seven-point lead which was their largest of the night.

“Anytime you go against a Division I program, that lower team comes out with a lot of juice, eventually that juice will run out and talent will catch up. It was good to see those guys make shots early to give us that early boost,” Beilein said.

Talent did catch up with the Dolphins. Elijah Hughes led the Orange with 21 points, shooting 78% from the field and 66% from downtown. Tyus Battle also had a bounce back game in Syracuse’s second exhibition game. He added 13 points to go along with 5 assists and 0 turnovers.

Le Moyne was flustered with the full-court press that Syracuse had on for the majority of the game. The Dolphins turned the ball over 26 times, which led to 29 points for the Orange.

But they did find a way to out rebound Syracuse as they had the advantage 36-33 on the glass when the night wrapped up. Tom Brown led Le Moyne with 8 rebounds.

“It’s just something I enjoy doing. If I get a rebound, I know I can kick it out to someone so they can make a play. I just try to play hard to make everyone else better,” Brown said.

Le Moyne fell to Syracuse 89-52 in their first game action of the season. They will tip-off the regular season Friday, November 9^th against Georgian Court University in the Saint Rose Tip-Off Tournament at 7 pm.

“We’re not trying to win the ACC, we are trying to win the NE-10. We will see a lot of man-to-man during the regular season and I thought Syracuse played better tonight in their zone than they played against Saint Rose. Tonight guys were flying around,” Beilein said.