SYRACUSE — Elijah Hughes scored 22 points, including 16 in the second half, Buddy Boeheim had 16, and Syracuse pulled away from stubborn Cornell in the second half, defeating the Big Red 72-53 on Wednesday night.

Syracuse had a 44-41 lead with just under 10 minutes to go but outscored Cornell 28-12 the rest of the way.

The win for Syracuse (3-1) was the Orange’s 40th straight over their upstate New York neighbor dating back to 1968.

Jimmy Boeheim scored 25 to lead Cornell (1-4) in the second matchup of the Boeheim brothers. Jordan Jones added 15.

Both teams struggled on offense.

The Orange started the game 5 for 10 overall and 4 for 6 from 3-point range but then went 12 for 33 overall before heating up near the end. Syracuse finished 10 for 27 from 3, going 6 for 21 after the hot start.

Cornell shot 35% for the game on 14-of-40 shooting, just 6 for 27 from 3 (22%). Cornell entered the game hitting just 29% from beyond the arc.

After hitting their first 4 of 6 3-pointers, the Orange missed their next eight 3s in the half and 1 of 9 overall from the field during an eight-minute span, allowing Cornell to get back in the game. The Big Red took a 25-24 lead on a layup by Jimmy Boeheim with more than a minute remaining, but brother Buddy broke a nearly six-minute scoring drought to give Syracuse a 26-25 lead heading into the break.

BIG PICTURE:

Cornell: The Big Red showed a lot of heart, hanging with Syracuse for 30 minutes, but was outmanned at the end.

Syracuse: After two strong showings, the Orange took several steps back against Cornell and is still searching for consistency on the offensive end.

UP NEXT:

Cornell plays its third of four straight road games Saturday against Coppin State.

Syracuse concludes its season-opening five-game home stand Saturday against Bucknell, the Orange’s second Patriot League opponent of the young season.