Syracuse played its first exhibition game of the 2023-24 season Friday night in the dome.
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Syracuse, N.Y. -- Judah Mintz did not play in Friday’s exhibition basketball game in the JMA Wireless Dome.
Before the game, Syracuse University announced, by a branded basketball tweet, that Mintz had a “mild lower body injury” sustained during an early practice this week.
Mintz did not play in Rochester last Saturday, either, when the Orange participated in Monroe Madness. He did accompany Adrian Autry, JJ Starling and Benny Williams to ACC Media Day this week.
Maliq Brown played five minutes of Friday’s first half at center, came out of the game and did not return until the opening tip of the second half. He then played about a minute before exiting the game and conferring briefly with SU athletic trainer Mike Mangano.
Autry said in his postgame remarks Friday that both Mintz and Brown were being held out essentially for precautionary reasons.
“We got a couple guys with little nagging injuries,” Autry said, “and it’s just not worth it right now. They’ll be fine. Nothing serious.”
Mintz was not in the postgame locker room, but Brown was.
He said he had “a little groin injury.” Brown said he probably just needed a few extra stretches before the game; it’s not an issue he’s dealt with before Friday.
In his eight minutes of game action, Brown scored 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting. He also made two free throws, had a steal and a rebound.
The previously injured Peter Carey came off the disabled list Friday night.
After sitting out the majority of last season because of knee trouble, then sitting out the first two intrasquad scrimmages with ankle soreness, Carey played in SU’s 81-68 win over Daemen.
He joked later that he would have preferred to play more.
He committed five fouls in eight minutes, which disqualified him from the game.
With Mounir Hima unavailable because of a nagging injury, Carey would likely have seen plenty of minutes Friday night. As it was, he fouled out and Benny Williams was tasked with playing some center.