Boys basketball: Syracuse catches Layton 63-57 for first series win since 2023
Orton drops game-high 27 points; Titans open region with key win
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- Syracuse’s Skyler Orton drives past Layton’s Karter Miller during a region boys basketball game at Syracuse High School on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Syracuse.
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- Layton’s Karter Miller burst between Syracuse’s Skyler Orton, left, and Drake Semrow, right, during a region boys basketball game at Syracuse High School on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Syracuse.
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- Syracuse’s Carter Robinson, defended by Layton’s Jack Godderidge, right, waits for his target during a region boys basketball game at Syracuse High School on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Syracuse.
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- Layton’s Karter Miller swipes the ball away from Syracuse’s Carter Robinson during a region boys basketball game at Syracuse High School on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Syracuse.
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- Layton’s Nic Anderson swerves around Syracuse’s Skyler Orton during a region boys basketball game at Syracuse High School on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Syracuse.
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- Syracuse’s Skyler Orton and Titans coach Greg Godderidge meet during a region boys basketball game against Layton at Syracuse High School on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Syracuse.
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- Syracuse’s Cohen Godderidge looks for a path around Layton’s Nic Anderson during a region boys basketball game at Syracuse High School on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Syracuse.
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- Layton’s Nic Anderson disagrees with a whistle favoring Syracuse during a region boys basketball game at Syracuse High School on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Syracuse.
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- Layton’s Karter Miller lets a 3-point try fly during a region boys basketball game at Syracuse High School on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Syracuse.
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- Syracuse’s Colton Hoenigman steps up for a layup against Layton during a region boys basketball game at Syracuse High School on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Syracuse.
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- Layton coach Kelby Miller directs from the sideline during a region boys basketball game at Syracuse High School on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Syracuse.
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- The Layton bench approves off a turnover whistle affecting Syracuse during a region boys basketball game at Syracuse High School on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Syracuse.
SYRACUSE — In all fairness, Skyler Orton gave the Syracuse locker room advance notice.
The final region opener, and final home meeting with neighboring Layton High, wouldn’t come without a top-notch performance out of the 5-foot-11 senior guard, Titans senior center big man Carter Robinson recalled from the team’s pregame meeting.
Orton, putting together a game-high 27 points in Syracuse’s 63-57 home win over the Lancers on Friday, kept his promise as if it were gold. Together, the Titans produced their first win over Kelby Miller and 6A power Layton in three years. It’s also Syracuse’s first win in a region opener since 2023.
“Skyler told us before the game that he was going off tonight,” Robinson said. “He did exactly that. I’m proud of him and what he did tonight.”
Robinson cooked up 17 points, including 11 in the first half, and junior guard Colton Hoenigman added 11 of his 13 points in the second half, as the Titans (9-5, 1-0 Region 1) beat the Lancers (10-5, 0-1) in transition, and at the foul line (18 of 23), for a big-time region win.
Down six at the half, Orton and Hoenigman combined for 14 third-quarter points to finally latch onto star guard Karter Miller (20 points) and Layton for good by the fourth quarter.
Miller landed his second and final triple for a short-lived lead atop the fourth quarter, but Syracuse soon captured the lead on a transition bucket for Jack Godderidge’s first field goal. The bucket, assisted by Hoenigman, made it a 50-all contest with little over five minutes left.
“We made the wrong decision a couple of times,” Jack Godderidge said. “We could have pushed the ball, moved the ball a little bit. I feel like we were just in too much of a rush. We’ve gotta slow down our offense and get a good, solid shot.”
Outscored 13-7 through the final five minutes, Layton struggled to bring its offense back to manageable speed in what 17-year coach Kelby Miller described as a defensive game plan that slowly unraveled into Syracuse’s favor over the final eight minutes.
“Our focus was to (defend) as best we could, and I thought we did a good job on (Robinson) and (Hoenigman),” Miller said. “(Orton) got away from us at times with some really good shots. I wish we could’ve locked in on him a bit more defensively.”
Late free-throw shooting by Orton, along with senior Bracken Lessey’s lone field goal of the night, helped push the Titans out of reach while the whistle burned Layton in crunch time.
“It’s definitely a different feeling,” Orton said. “It’s been three years since we won, so it felt good to get that win. … There’s definitely a lot of confidence for us as long as we keep working on us and we focus on our team. We play together, just like that, and we’re going to win every time.”
Layton forced the Titans to earn everything in the first half.
Four different Lancers penciled in 3-pointers in the first quarter, with seniors Nic Anderson (seven points) and Baylor Brant (five points) each adding their second in the second quarter. Seniors Chase Randall and Tage Allen combined for 10 points; Junior Isaac Thompson added two off the bench.
Karter Miller doubled his 10 first-half points in the second half, and senior guard Jack Godderidge, cousin to Syracuse’s Cohen Godderidge and nephew of Titans coach Greg Godderidge, added another eight points to his total of 13.
Syracuse — with a drastically-improved output from Hoenigman and continued support in the front court — found more answers, more often in the second half of Friday’s result.
“The boys were excited,” Greg Godderidge said.
“(Kelby Miller) does a great job. We came close last year, but we wanted to definitely get them at home, defend our home court, and start the region off right. … We’ve just been working on defensive rebounding over the past couple of games. We can score, we’ve just gotta play (defense), and we did tonight.”
The Godderidge family, especially, reaped the rewards of a packed house on hand for the penultimate meeting between Jack and Cohen on the high school stage. Barring some silly circumstances at the not-too-distant state tournament, they’ll meet for the final time on Friday, Jan. 30, in Layton.
Greg Godderidge is in his second season as Syracuse’s head coach, as well as the second with his son, Cohen, in tow.
“This game’s really special to me,” Jack Godderidge said. “I’ve got family on the other team, my cousin, my uncle Greg, so it’s really good for me (and) it brings a lot of pressure. All my family comes and watches and supports me, so it’s fun.”
Layton looks to rebound from a second consecutive loss when taking on Weber on Tuesday, Jan. 13; Syracuse hosts the Warriors on Jan. 16 after a weeklong break.
Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.
