Virginia Tech 101, Syracuse 95: Orange blow double-digit lead, fall in tough overtime loss

Carlos saved the day briefly, but Syracuse drops a key road game with significant ACC Tournament implications.

BLACKSBURG, V.A. — In a game where the Syracuse Orange (12-17, 6-12) had the chance to officially solidify a spot in the ACC Tournament, the team took as much as a 13-point lead only to see it disappear in a brutal overtime loss to the Virginia Tech Hokies (13-16, 8-10) on Saturday.

Jaquan Carlos (9 points and 9 assists) became the hero late, knocking down a game-tying three with under one second left to send the game into overtime. Syracuse made over 65% of its attempts in the first half, but shot 42% in the second half. Despite a spark from its bench, the Orange’s defense failed to get enough consistent stops in the second half.

Virginia Tech would shoot over 57% from the field in both halves and convert five of its seven attempts in overtime, and that proved to be the deciding factor as the Orange’s offense fell cold coming out of the break. Syracuse now falls to 2-8 on the road this season.

Jyare Davis finished with a team-high 21 points on 8/11 shooting. Eddie Lampkin (14 points and 12 rebounds), J.J. Starling (16 points on 5/13 shooting), Chris Bell (13 points) and Kule Cuffe (13 points) all finished in double-figures.

For Virginia Tech, Jaydon Young exploded for 26 points, 24 of which came in the second half. Ben Hammond (21 points), Jaden Schutt (20 points on 6/7 shooting) and Mylyjael Poteat (14 points) also contributed for the Hokies.

Syracuse began the game focused on feeding the ball to its frontcourt, with Davis and Lampkin scoring Syracuse’s first 10 points. Poteat score inside for Virginia Tech’s first basket, but Davis responded one possession later and converted in the post. Lampkin scored twice inside, including with this jam off a pass from Carlos, which pushed the Orange to an early 10-6 lead by the first media timeout:

Both teams held steady on offense, with each of Syracuse (7/10) and Virginia Tech (4/8) shooting at least 50% as the halfway mark of the first half neared.

That included some early involvement from both benches. Hammond came off the bench for the Hokies to drill a three and cut Syracuse’s lead to 12-9. Bell knocked down a well contested mid-range jumper on the baseline, then Petar Majstorovic drilled a three from the elbow to put the Orange back up 17-11.

The game continued to remain an offensive shootout early on. Syracuse would go up as much as 11 points (22-11) after Cuffe knocked down a three of his own off the bench, but the Hokies quickly responded.

Schutt scored eight straight for Virginia Tech, including two threes, to power an 11-3 run by the Hokies. By this point in the game, Syracuse and Virginia Tech were shooting a combined 22/24 (nearly 65%) from the floor.

Syracuse quickly responded with a 6-0 run its own thanks to Starling knocking down his first field goal on a driving layup followed back consecutive makes from Lampkin, as the Orange went back up 35-28.

Both benches combined for 43 points in the first half, with two end of half dunks from Naheem McLeod keeping Syracuse’s offense going. Lampkin capped off a productive half with a score inside with under a second to go, giving the Orange a 47-38 lead entering halftime.

Syracuse and Virginia Tech combined shot over 57% from the field in the first half. Lampkin (14 points and 7 rebounds) and Davis (8 points on 4/4 shooting) helped the Orange outscore the Hokies 28-14 in the paint in the first half, while Schutt and Hammond had 19 points total to lead the way for the Hokies.

Virginia Tech came out of halftime on the right note, scoring four straight points to trim Syracuse’s back down to five. It took a few minutes before Davis helped give Syracuse its first basket of the second half. Autry brought Bell back in to provide a spark, and he delivered briefly with a pair of free throws followed by a corner three to propel Syracuse back up to a 54-44 lead.

Virginia Tech continued to show fight, especially with Schutt continuing to score off the bench, at one point cutting the Hokies deficit again (54-40).

Once again, it was the reserves for Syracuse stepping up when the offense got cold. This time it was Cuffe, who scored seven straight points for the Orange (including a corner three and a layup in transition) to keep the Orange ahead, forcing Virginia Tech to call timeout. Syracuse went back up 61-52 with under 13 minutes to go.

Syracuse would push its lead out to as much as 13 points (65-52) after Starling converted a long-two after a timeout and completed a driving layup. The Orange led by eight with under seven and a half minutes to go, but a strong second half spark from Jaydon Young kept Virginia Tech within striking distance. A three from Young followed by a mid-range jumper from Hammond capped off a 10-1 Hokies run, forcing Syracuse to call timeout.

Momentum continued to swing in the favor of Virginia Tech. Starling was fouled on a three-point shot but missed all three attempts from the foul line, while the Hokies scored on consecutive possessions to tie the game at 70 with under five minutes left. Autry again called timeout. At this point, Syracuse went over four minutes without a field goal.

Both teams continued to trade points as the second half winded down. Starling redeemed himself with two free throw makes followed by a tough and-one layup to put Syracuse back up three, but Young drilled another shot as Syracuse led 77-76 with 90 seconds to go.

One possession later, Schutt converted inside to give Virginia Tech its first lead since there was 18:54 left in the first half. Poteat would make a hook shot to put the Hokies up three.

With under 30 seconds left, Carlos had an open look from the corner to try and tie the game, but it bounced just short.

But it wasn’t over just yet.

The Orange had one last chance down three with 4.5 seconds to go. After going the length of the court, Carlos caught the pass and drilled a ridiculous three with 0.6 to go, sending the game into overtime.

Davis and Young started the extra basketball action leading the way for both offense, trading and-ones and combining for the first 13 points of overtime. However, Virginia Tech’s offense continued to cook. Hammond would convert on a three to put the Orange down four (93-89), and that deficit would be too much for the Orange to overcome as Virginia Tech storms back to hand Syracuse a tough road loss.

Syracuse will be back on the road one last time Tuesday night to take on the SMU Mustangs.