Syracuse loses 1st game, falls 78-74 in OT to No. 3 Houston in Vegas
Despite fighting back with an 11-0 run in the waning moments of the second half, Syracuse dropped its first game of the season in overtime to No. 3 Houston. Courtesy of @joeyyarchives on Instagram
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LAS VEGAS — The score after two halves didn’t show a difference between the two teams on the court. For most of overtime, that same sentiment proved true. But in the end, Syracuse couldn’t prevail.
Even without Donnie Freeman, the Orange went toe-to-toe with the Cougars in their first true test of Adrian Autry’s potentially make-or-break third campaign. Still, Syracuse (4-1, Atlantic Coast) fell 78-74 to No. 3 Houston (6-0, Big 12) in overtime, dropping its first game of the season. While an encouraging loss, it continues a worrisome trend, where the Orange haven’t won a Quad 1 game since Autry’s first season at the helm.
After cutting an 11-point deficit to a tie game with the shot clock off in regulation, Naithan George tried feeding William Kyle III for a game-winning score at the rim. However, he was blocked, sending the game to overtime.
In the extra period, the Orange and Cougars traded baskets initially before Houston’s Emanuel Sharp embarked on a 5-0 run, giving it a 74-69 lead midway through the frame.
But as they did all game, the Orange fought back, cutting their deficit to 76-74 with 35 seconds remaining. Milos Uzan was then fouled, draining both of his shots from the charity stripe before George was forced to heave a 3 that missed, sealing the Orange’s loss.
Deep into the second half, it would’ve been almost unbelievable that the game even went this far. For so long, SU went toe-to-toe with one of the best programs in college basketball before things started going awry.
The Cougars’ lead then started to blossom. A four-point advantage quickly went to six, then nine, then 11.
There were under three minutes remaining. It’s a scenario where most teams — especially SU of the last few years — simply fold. Incapable of fighting back.
But not Autry’s squad. Eleven points turned to nine, then seven, then three.
After a Uzan 3-pointer that could’ve been the dagger, Syracuse failed to secure the rebound, but he then missed another triple. Kyle corralled it and pushed the ball ahead to Tyler Betsey, who canned a 3 to tie the score 67-67 with 54.6 seconds remaining.
After forcing a stop, the Orange had the ball with no timeouts and a chance to win, but couldn’t capitalize.
Pregame, this result still would’ve been almost unfathomable, too. Syracuse was hit with a shockwave just before beginning one of the biggest stretches of the Autry era.
Due to a lower-body injury, Freeman was ruled out for the Players Era Festival and will be reevaluated when SU returns to central New York. Freeman, who led SU in scoring across its first four games, returned for his sophomore year after playing just 14 games as a freshman.
Without their leading scorer, in encouraging fashion, the Orange were never completely outmatched against the Cougars, who are coming off a National Championship appearance. Betsey stepped up with a team-high 16 points, but J.J. Starling, Nate Kingz and George combined to shoot 13-of-31 from the field.
Meanwhile, SU shot 42.9% from the field, including making just eight 3-pointers on a season-high 31 attempts. Even worse, the Orange were 12-of-29 from the free-throw line, continuing their outlandish struggles from the charity stripe.
On the other hand, Uzan and Sharp combined for 52 points. The Cougars shot just 36.4% from the field, but they made 11-of-27 3-pointers. More importantly, they nailed their free throws, too, even though they shot 19-of-27 from the line.
Monday’s result was encouraging for the Orange. It was arguably one of their best under Autry. However, it wasn’t the result they needed or wanted.
