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Chris Bell didn’t want to celebrate too much after his career-high 25 points against Colgate on Nov. 14. His teammates congratulated him — Bell’s numbers fueled a 24-point comeback — but Bell didn’t even think he did that well.
“Just gonna keep working and enjoy,” Bell said after draining a single-game career-high six 3s.
Bell, whose minutes have increased from 20.1 per game in 2022-23 to 29.1 this season, has seen more production in his sophomore campaign, averaging 14 points per game and shooting just under 40% from the field. Last season, he averaged 6.6 points per game and scored a season-high 17 against Notre Dame on Jan. 14.
With five games in double figures just nine games into this season, Bell has scored more than 17 points four different times, including the career-high performance over the Raiders. Bell has developed into a consistent scoring option for the Orange, especially beyond the 3-point arc. He’s also had a stronger defensive presence.
“I think it’s just a different mixture of what I’m doing,” Bell said of his improvement this season. “I feel like I’m going to the basket a little bit more (and) getting a little bit more time out there. I’m just trying to be effective in any way I can whether it’s shooting, defense or anything like that.”
Against Colgate, Bell propelled the Orange to their largest comeback since 1988, shooting 9-of-19 from the field with a career-high six 3-pointers.
After making a couple of 3-pointers from his preferred left corner spot, Bell penetrated into the lane for a layup, cutting the deficit in half with 11:30 remaining. Bell tied the game at 70 with just under 1:40 left. His successes from deep contributed to two-thirds of the team’s shots from range.
“Bell was phenomenal today,” Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry said postgame against Colgate. “This was his best game in a (Syracuse) uniform.”
During the Colgate game, Quadir Copeland pulled Bell aside during halftime and told him to keep shooting. In the first half, Bell only made 2-of-6 triples. However, from deep, he’s shooting four percent higher than last year and is just 12 3s away from beating his total last season.
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Aside from a 16-point performance against then-No. 7 Tennessee, all of Bell’s double-digit scoring performances have come at the JMA Wireless Dome. Autry said following the 80-57 blowout victory over LSU in the ACC/SEC Challenge that the “ball finds the energy.” Bell was the energy in that game, spearheaded by multiple defensive stops and extra passes by Justin Taylor and Copeland that rewarded Bell with triples.
Bell notched 20 points in the outing, matching the six 3-pointers that he made two weeks earlier against Colgate. Shooting 7-of-15 from the field, he complimented Judah Mintz perfectly as Mintz recorded a career-high 33 points in the game. Autry described Bell as an “elite shooter,” adding that most of the time, he doesn’t miss the open looks that he had against the Tigers.
“I’m in a rhythm,” Bell said after the game. “When I’m in a rhythm, it’s very hard for me to get cold.”
On Tuesday against Cornell, Bell found that rhythm. On the opening field goal for Syracuse, he took a dribble to the left off a screen from Naheem McLeod and converted from 3.
In the second half, he penetrated into the paint and scored a layup from the left wing. Then, Bell made a pair of triples from his preferred left side of the floor to help extend SU’s lead back to 11. Down the stretch, a baseline jumper helped fend off a Cornell comeback. He finished with 19 points against the Big Red and had his fourth game this season with at least four 3-pointers.
Yet, as much as Bell’s offensive production has improved, his coaches tell him that everything starts from the defensive end. Several of Bell’s 3-point attempts have come on quick transitions. Bell also has been active chasing down defenders and getting key blocks. Following SU’s win over LSU, Bell vividly remembered the name Tyrrell Ward, who he stared down after denying him.
“(Autry) feels like I can be one of the best defensive players and I’ve never really looked at myself that way,” Bell said.
He finished with a career-high four blocks against Cornell, including stuffing Cooper Noard twice in the first half. In the second, he blocked Sean Hansen and was rewarded with a 3-pointer eight seconds later on the counterattack.
Following his sixth 3-pointer against Colgate, Bell lifted his arms up in celebration. He knew it was going in. Bell had missed one before, but this attempt tied the game up at 70, the first time the game was tied since 3-3; his teammates had the trust in him to make a clutch bucket.
“He’s been a lot more consistent,” Taylor said. “He’s always shooting with confidence. They preach for him to always shoot the ball no matter what. He’s done a great job so far this season.”
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