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Syracuse Basketball: What the Locker Room Said After First Win of Season
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- Syracuse Basketball: What the Locker Room Said After First Win of Season
(Tom Goslowski RoundTable Sports)
Mark Marano speaks following Syracuse's season-opening win.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The Syracuse Orange men's basketball team won its first game of the regular season on Monday night inside the JMA Wireless Dome. The Orange defeated the New Haven Chargers of the Northeast Conference 74-58
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The victory marks not just the first win for the Orange on the 2026-27 regular season, but also the first win in the Syracuse career of head coach Gerry McNamara.
In a difference in comparison to other college programs, Syracuse men's basketball has an open locker room policy following games. Since Jim Boeheim was the head coach, the Orange have implemented more of a professional style feel for their athletes following games. In many colleges around the country, player access is restricted.
In similar fashion to both Boeheim and Autry, McNamara has allowed unique access for the media to players following games.
How Syracuse reacted in the locker room following the team's first win of the season
Despite the win over New Haven being the first of the season for the Orange, the team was not overly excited about the victory. Syracuse was expected to win this game in dominant fashion and after getting out to an 18-0 lead, the Orange played basically even with the Chargers throughout the final 30 minutes.
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From the locker room
Following the win, SyracuseRoundtable spoke to three different players.
Freshman Mark Morano made his collegiate debut in front of 20,000 plus fans inside the JMA Wireless Dome. Morano, a product of Slovenia, finished his college debut with nine points, one block, one steal, one rebound and one assist. Morano spoke about if he felt any sense of nervousness before taking the court for his first collegiate game:
"It felt good. I thought I was going to be more nervous but I wasn't as nervous as I thought but I was really excited."
Sophomore Sadiq White Jr. had a strong individual performance in his season debut. The forward posted 14 points and a team-leading 13 rebounds. White spoke on the the team effort:
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"A whole different group. These guys came in head down ready to work. That's all I can ask for. A bunch of guys with the same mission to win. We all win we all eat."
Fellow sophomore Kiyan Anthony had a standout performance in game one of the season. as well. The 6-foot-5 guard led the Orange in scoring with 17 points. Anthony gave praise to his fellow teammates, in particular the guards, and how good they can be this season.
Anthony on the guards "I think our guard play is super deep. We got Ryan Moesch, we got Garway (Dual), Aiden Tobiason, who didn't play tonight he is dealing with a hamstring injury but our guard play is so deep anybody can be going any night."
What's next for the Orange?
Syracuse is back in action on Thursday night when the host Central Connecticut State. Tip off is set for 7:00 p.m. ET inside the JMA Wireless Dome. SyracuseRoundtable will also provide live coverage from that game and we'll have our postgame takeaways after the fact.
