PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — Tyler Lydon looked around in open space trying to find a pass. Just inside the 3-point line, he didn’t think he had a shot until he looked up and saw no one was guarding him.

Then he rose up unimpeded and drained the long 2, and Syracuse tied the score at 27, the first tie for the Orange since being down by 10 points early.

“At first I was just trying to swing the ball, but (the defender) sagged off of me so I just decided to take the shot,” Lydon said.

It was a game of good decisions for Lydon, who finished a career night with 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. It’s the type of performance that is becoming more commonplace with each game he plays. This time, he was the star of SU’s 79-76 win over No. 18 Connecticut on Thursday.

After tying the game in the first half, he did the same in the second half when the Orange had fallen behind again.

“The plays Tyler Lydon makes, seniors don’t make,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. “…He sees slips in plays that no one else sees. Nothing bothers the kid.”

He took a questionable fadeaway jumper early in the second half. He turned around from a defender and had a bad look at the rim and saw it clank off. The next time he got the ball, though, he was in transition and blasted a long 3 that swished through, allowing himself a small celebration as he ran back to play defense.

With Syracuse up by six and 75 seconds on the clock, a shot from Rodney Purvis — who had 11 second-half points — was blocked by Lydon who rebounded it as well. It helped SU put the game away in the final moments and give the Orange a win over the former Big East rivals.

“Just to play in that atmosphere is a lot of fun,” Lydon said. “To be in that type of game shows the confidence that Coach has for me. Just to be out there helps my confidence a lot.”

Published on November 27, 2015 at 10:56 am

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3