Philadelphia – One Syracuse basketball player appears to have avoided a serious injury, while another key member of the Orange might be nearing a return, according to SU coach Adrian Autry.
Autry updated the status of both players after the Orange’s 80-50 win over Drexel here at the XFinity Mobile Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Syracuse forward Tyler Betsey seemed to roll his ankle midway through the first half of Saturday’s game. The sophomore forward had scored five quick points off the bench before going down in the lane with 9:31 remaining in the first half.
Betsey hobbled off the court and then limped into the team’s locker room for a few minutes before returning to the bench. Betsey never re-entered the game.
“I think it was his ankle, so I think he might’ve twisted it or rolled it,’’ Autry said after the game. “You know, I’ll find out more when we get back in the next day or two. But it doesn’t seem like it was that serious.’’
Betsey joined Syracuse guard JJ Starling on the Orange’s bench for the remainder of the game.
Starling, SU’s leading scorer last season, missed his second straight game after injuring his right leg less than four minutes into the Orange’s regular-season opener against Binghamton.
Autry said Starling was nearing a return to the lineup but wouldn’t say if the senior guard would be ready to play in the Orange’s next game on Tuesday against Monmouth at the JMA Wireless Dome.
“I think he’s really close, you know, really close,’’ Autry said. “I expect him back, you know, pretty soon.’’
After playing Monmouth on Tuesday, Syracuse will head to Las Vegas to play in the Players Era Festival. The Orange’s first game in Vegas will be on Monday, Nov. 24 against No. 1 Houston.
Autry said it was important to the Orange to get Starling back on the court.
“I mean, it’s important because he’s a big part of what we’re doing,’’ Autry said. “He’s our captain, he’s our leader. For our team to be whole, for this program to be where we think we can be, he’s a big part of it and we need him.’’
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