Joseph Girard III shook off a poor shooting performance but drained two crucial 3-pointers down the stretch to help Syracuse post a come-from-behind, 85-84 home victory over pesky Bryant.

Buddy Boeheim scored 23 points and Marek Dolezaj contributed 20 points, nine assists and five steals for the Orange, who returned to practice on Thanksgiving after being on lockdown since Nov. 15 when coach Jim Boeheim announced he'd tested positive for the coronavirus.

Chris Childs scored 18 points and Michael Green III added 15 points and seven assists for Bryant, which welcomed nine new players to its roster.

Girard started the contest 0 for 11 from the field but drained a straight-away 3-pointer with six minutes remaining to provide Syracuse with its first lead at 75-73.

The sophomore followed with another shot from the same spot with 2:16 left to provide an 83-82 edge that the Orange didn't relinquish, although Peter Kiss and Michael Green III missed tough jumpers in the closing seconds for the Bulldogs.

Kiss hit his second 3-pointer of the half four minutes in to give Bryant a 63-50 lead before Syracuse rallied.

The Orange looked like a team that hadn't played in a while in the first half. They shot just 29.5 percent in the first half (13 of 44), including 6 of 22 from beyond the arc.

The Bulldogs, who had its season opener at home against Stony Brook on Wednesday canceled due to Covid-19 concerns, showed no rust in the opening half. They shot 52.6 percent (19 of 36), including 9 of 19 from deep against the Syracuse vaunted zone.

Childs, playing his first D1 game after spending a season each in Division III and junior college, was 5-for-6 from the arc in the first half. His fifth make from deep provided a six-point advantage with a minute left as the Bulldogs took a 51-44 lead at the half.

Boeheim, Dolezaj and Illinois transfer Allan Griffin combined for 34 points and 13 rebounds in the first 20 minutes to keep the Orange connected.

--Field Level Media