Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Jesse Edwards bolted into the lane, elevating as an offering from Judah Mintz soared above the right side of the basket. This was a common play for SU, a simple transition alley-oop that had worked countless times this season and once earlier in the first half of Wednesday’s contest. But instead of falling through the net, the ball rattled off the opposite side as Edwards let go of the rim.

Then, something even more uncommon happened. Someone other than Edwards crashed the offensive glass. Maliq Brown charged in from the left side, timed his jump perfectly and tipped the ball back in as it suspended momentarily in midair before any VT player could locate it.

“He’s got everything,” Joe Girard III told Atlantic Coast Conference Network postgame. “He’s got a motor that just keeps him going 100% time in the game.”

Brown’s aggressive play helped him finish with a double-double, the first of his career. He tallied 11 points and 12 rebounds, including five offensive, as Syracuse (11-6, 4-2 ACC) went on to win 82-72 over Virginia Tech (11-6, 1-5 ACC).

His performance came just days after he reached double-digit points for the first time with 10 points and eight rebounds at Virginia. Brown played more than 30 minutes for the first time this year after filling in for Benny Williams, who was out with an illness. He played 34 minutes against the Hokies.

“He’s playing starter minutes in both games,” Jim Boeheim said postgame. “Maliq is doing what we need him to do.”

Williams was cleared to play against the Hokies, but he saw limited time in Syracuse’s rotation after struggling offensively early on. Boeheim said Williams was too worried about trying to score the ball from 15-to-18 feet, but he’s “not a good enough shooter” to be making those attempts. Meanwhile, Brown focused on staying as close to the basket as possible.

“(Brown) stays around the basket, that’s what he does, that’s where the ball is,” Boeheim said. “Benny wants to play out 15-to-18 feet and there’s no rebounds out there.”

Brown was put in against the Cavaliers out of necessity, but he figured out how to pair his style of play with Edwards’, who also strives as close to the basket as possible. He always positioned himself on the other side of where Edwards was, cutting whenever the defense penetrated towards Edwards. Brown scored his first points against Virginia Tech off a quick feed from Edwards five minutes into the contest, finishing an easy dunk on the left side.

“We always got a good connection down low,” Edwards said about Brown. “I’ve been having a feeling since the start of the season and in summer (that he was going to make an impact).”

Brown said he carried momentum from the prior week into his performances against both Virginia teams. In both, he said the time he spends on the bench prior to actually coming onto the court is crucial, since he can talk with his teammates and see how he could be plugged into the offense. On Wednesday, he had seven minutes to watch before coming in for Williams.

Just a minute after coming onto the court, Brown mimicked the play he made on Saturday for his first points against UVA, standing on the left side of the basket while Edwards controlled the ball in the center of the paint. Brown had gotten an offensive rebound to help reset the offense in transition, but his new positioning allowed Edwards a backup option.

When two defenders collapsed on Edwards, he promptly flipped the ball over both players into the hands of Brown for an easy finish. Boeheim said Edwards struggled a little bit offensively, playing below the level he displayed near the beginning of the season, making Brown’s contribution to the offense even more vital.

In the second half, Virginia Tech launched into a 10-0 run, coming 12 points close to Syracuse’s lead. Again, Brown cut as Edwards drove inside, receiving an underhand pass before taking a couple steps to the opposite side of the rim to finish off a reverse layup.

“Just knowing that Edwards is dominating the paint … it’s easy to play with him,” Brown said.

Edwards finished with six assists, including three that finished in baskets for Brown. The freshman also helped out his teammates, making key assists as well as defensive plays in the second half to spark Syracuse’s success in transition.

With roughly a minute left in the game, Brown received the ball at the left block, having enough space to make a move on his own and score. But he tossed it back out to Girard at the left wing, allowing him to nail his third 3-pointer.

And less than 30 seconds later, Brown advanced SU past the press after catching a contested pass from Justin Taylor near midcourt. He let go of the ball before taking a full stride, lofting it to Edwards for an emphatic dunk to end Syracuse’s scoring on the night.

“It’s very exciting to get that on this platform, especially in the ACC as a freshman,” Brown said about the double-double.

Published on January 11, 2023 at 11:01 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu