CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Tyler Lydon clenched his fists as he ran up the court. He had spent the last couple of seconds begging for a pass as he stood wide open on the perimeter. And when he caught the ball in transition, he connected on a shot that all but put Boston College out of reach.

Throughout the first 27 minutes of SU’s game at BC, there was no such certainty. The two teams had traded leads, and the league’s worst team was giving SU its best effort.

But Lydon’s shot came amid a 16-2 game-defining run for Syracuse. And it put distance in a game the Eagles, winless in conference play, had little business being in.

“I feel way more confident in my game,” Lydon said. “I’m just playing more aggressive. I’m playing a lot better.”

Lydon scored 10 of his 20 points during that run, and Malachi Richardson added the other six as the two freshmen combined to bring Syracuse (18-8, 8-5 Atlantic Coast) to life in its 75-61 win over Boston College (7-18, 0-12) at Conte Forum on Sunday. The Orange shot just 3-of-13 from behind the arc in the first half, but Lydon and Richardson combined to make four during the run as the Orange made 8-of-10 in the second half.

Head coach Jim Boeheim said Syracuse got the 3-point looks it wanted in the first half, but BC’s Matt Milon had 20 points, a career-high, and the Orange couldn’t keep any separation with its poor shooting.

“We were playing pretty well (in the first half), doing everything pretty well on both ends of the court,” Boeheim said. “But we’re up three because we’re 3-for-13. We have to make 3s.”

With the shot clock winding down with 13:02 to play, Richardson held the ball being heavily guarded by Daryl Hicks. But he did a cross-over move and faded away as he made a 3-pointer falling to the ground.

The next play he knifed through the defense to find Lydon, who laid in a wide-open attempt. After he found Lydon two minutes later, Richardson started running back on defense before it even went in.

“I knew it was good before I even threw it to him,” Richardson said. “He was rhythm, he was wide open and he had just got a couple buckets. I knew it was going in.”

When the run was over, it had spanned just four minutes and nine seconds of game time. Syracuse was up, 60-45 — a lead that would never get to less than nine the rest of the way.

There have been long stretches this season where Lydon has been hesitant to shoot. On Sunday, he was begging for the ball. There have been stretches this season where Richardson has been unable to make shots. On Sunday, he hit big ones while being heavily guarded and created five more makes with his passing.

It added up to a win with the 14-point final margin being the exact difference in SU’s second-half run. And SU’s star freshmen were at the heart of it.

“We did the things we had to do today to win,” Boeheim said. “It really came down to making some shots in the second half. And that’s what we did. If we hadn’t, we’d still be out there playing, or we wouldn’t win.”

Published on February 14, 2016 at 3:02 pm

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3