Syracuse once again came up short, falling to 5-10 in league play.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — On a wintry night in central New York, the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team was outdone by a hot-shooting North Carolina Tar Heels club, falling 88-82 inside a snow-covered JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday.
The Orange (11-15, 5-10) surrendered 30-61 shooting — including 13-28 from outside — to the Tar Heels (15-11, 8-6) in what was another defensive struggle for Syracuse. Eddie Lampkin led all scorers with 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. JJ Starling finished with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Ian Jackson had 23 points on 5-10 outside shooting for North Carolina, which moved to 18-7 in the all-time series against Syracuse.
The loss created separation from the messy middle of the ACC and Syracuse, which headed in the direction of the conference basement. Despite the distance from the middle of the pack, Syracuse remains in position to qualify for the ACC Tournament.
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Both teams started the game with careless miscues. Syracuse had hasty turnovers, gave up offensive rebounds and missed easy shots. North Carolina missed dunks and had open threes bounce off the rim, onto the backboard and careen out of bounds. JJ Starling picked up his second foul just before the first media timeout. The game was tied 4-4.
Starling stayed in the game with two fouls while Jaquan Carlos and Chris Bell checked in first off the bench for Syracuse, replacing Elijah Moore and Lucas Taylor. Petar Majstorovic checked in for Jyare Davis when Syracuse went to a 2-3 zone at the 14:30 mark. The zone resulted in two straight turnovers on Carolina’s first two plays but success was mixed at best. Kyle Cuffe replaced Starling at the second media timeout and Naheem McLeod supplanted Eddie Lampkin. McLeod scored right away on his first offensive possession. Syracuse went back to man-to-man defense on the other end.
Majstorovic had a nice stretch where he finished two shots in the paint — the first a floater from a feed from McLeod and the second a nice reverse layup on a laser pass from Carlos. But Ven-Allen Lubin scored twice down low and UNC maintained a 19-16 lead by the third media timeout.
Out of that timeout Bell tied the game on a corner three, however, North Carolina answered with a 9-0 run. Syracuse went back to a 2-3 zone during that stretch only for Jackson to begin the run with a wide open three from the left wing. Jae’lyn Withers scored, Lampkin accidentally tipped in a UNC miss and RJ Davis got a floater to go after an offensive rebound. Adrian Autry called timeout.
Starling checked back in briefly before being replaced by Moore during the final stretch of the half. Syracuse went back to man to man. Majstorovic and Taylor hit shots during that time, but a Seth Trimble offensive putback had Autry visibly frustrated with his team. Withers connected on a three opposite the Syracuse bench and had both a stare and words for a verbal Syracuse fan sitting courtside. Lampkin had a three point play and Taylor connected on another three, but Jackson connected on a corner three that had an expressive Autry shout, “Damn it!” at nobody in particular.
North Carolina led 42-34 and headed into the half. Jackson led all scorers with 16 at the break. The Tar Heels were 7-15 from three in the first half and the UNC bench outscored Syracuse’s 22-11.
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Carlos started for Moore out of the break. Starling was adamant in getting his offense going and the Orange continued to go into Lampkin, who was effective down low against a limited interior UNC defense. But Withers kept up the hot shooting in the second half and knocked down back to back threes. Carolina led 53-45 at the second media timeout.
Bell was first off the bench in the second half, replacing Taylor. Syracuse went back to the 2-3 zone as Majstorovic replaced Davis and McLeod replaced Lampkin. Twice, Starling cut it to five operating in the mid-range. Starling would cut the lead to three after converting two free throws. That’s when the game turned interesting.
Starling converted at the rim on the next play and drew a blocking foul on Withers. He then tied the game at 60 after completing the three point play. UNC’s Davis was fouled and made both free throws, only for Lampkin to answer with a dunk on the other end. Jackson made his first three of the second half, a corner three, to move back in front 65-62. North Carolina took control of the game from there.
Withers once again got his offense going down the stretch and buoyed the lead to three possession. On the other end, Lampkin fired a cross-court pass over Carlos’ head that sailed out of bounds and drew the ire of his head coach. In a season chock-full of challenges, setbacks and disappointments, it was the most visibly frustrated Autry has looked from the sideline all season.
Down the stretch Starling made every effort to will his team by scoring the ball and score he did, ultimately cutting the lead to four with 1:15 to play. On the ensuing play, Washington picked up his fifth foul with 58 seconds left on Lampkin — the senior for the Orange made two free throws to cut the lead to two.
On the next defensive play the Orange showed 2-3 zone amidst some confusion before matching up man, only for Cadeau to drive to the lane and score. Syracuse had its chance, but a shorthanded defensive sequence proved costly. Cuffe missed a three on the next possession and Davis was fouled, all but sealing the game. North Carolina executed late and walked out with an 88-82 win.
Next up
Syracuse heads on the road to face Pittsburgh this Tuesday. That game tips at 7 p.m. EST from the Petersen Events Center and airs on the ACC Network.