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Syracuse’s nonconference slate is officially over, with the Orange finishing a respectable 9-4. But despite the record, SU’s triumphs came amid a bumpy stretch marked by inconsistent play.

Four of the Orange’s nonconference wins were by fewer than 15 points, raising questions about Syracuse’s offensive stability and its execution of head coach Adrian Autry’s coveted “level five energy.” A matchup with Stonehill Monday was a chance for SU to silence those doubts, but they lingered around as the Orange failed to establish dominance early.

As expected, Donnie Freeman missed his ninth straight game, leaving Sadiq White and William Kyle III to anchor the frontcourt. But it was J.J. Starling and Naithan George who guided SU’s offense, scoring 20 and 22 points, respectively.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (9-4, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) 77-48 win over Stonehill (3-10, 0-0 Northeast):

Starling commands the offense

Starling entered Monday’s matchup just seven points from becoming SU’s 67th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. It took him under three minutes to reach that mark, boosting the Orange to an early lead they never relinquished.

Starling opened the scoring with a quick layup before knocking down a 3 from the left wing to give SU a 5-2 advantage. Just over a minute later, the Baldwinsville native intercepted a pass from Stonehill’s Rex Sunderland and converted a fast-break dunk on the other end.

With Freeman sidelined and 10 new players this season, it’s taken time for Starling to come into his own. After taking 16 shots per game last year, that number diminished to just 9.4, begging the question of whether he should be more aggressive. On Monday, it was evident that when Starling shoots, SU is in a better position to win.

Despite getting subbed out seven minutes in, Starling returned at the 10:25 mark and started right where he left off. He broke a five-minute scoreless run with a tough layup to give SU a 27-16 lead, then stole a Sunderland pass and took it baseline to baseline for his 11th point with five minutes left until the half.

In the second half, Starling cooled down, adding just seven more points, two assists and one rebound. Nevertheless, his hot start allowed the Orange to breakaway early.

Pulling the trigger — and hitting — from deep

Part of Syracuse’s shaky start to its season came from its struggles beyond the arc. The Orange entered Monday hitting 3s at a 29.8% clip, the nation’s 303rd best mark, while reaching the 40% threshold just twice this season. Despite the mishaps, SU continued to shoot from the perimeter, and its shots finally began to fall against the Skyhawks.

Starling knocked down Syracuse’s first 3-point attempt just over a minute in before George — coming off his best game of the season — added another less than one minute later. Starling and George then each missed one in the next minute, but George extended the Orange’s lead to 15-5 soon off a Sunderland turnover.

White, who’d knocked down just two triples before Monday, joined in with one from the corner with 14:38 left. It was SU’s final triple until four seconds left, when Nate Kingz drained a corner 3 for Syracuse’s fifth make on 11 attempts.

SU started the game 4-of-6 on 3s, but made just one of its next six attempts. But the Orange kept pulling 3s. Kingz sank his second of the night and added a third with 6:17 left, giving SU its largest lead at the time.

Syracuse added two more in the final five minutes, finishing 9-for-21, which tied its best clip this season (42.9%)

A brand new George

George was acquired from Georgia Tech over the offseason to spearhead Syracuse’s offense. He led the ACC with 6.5 assists per game last year, but since joining SU, hasn’t consistently replicated that playmaking production. As of late, he’s instead been looked to for scoring.

Against Northeastern, he dropped a season-high 22 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Versus the Skyhawks, he again scored 22 points — this time on 58.3% shooting.

George’s scoring barrage first started with a 3 just two minutes in. Fifty-seven seconds later, George drove inside and converted a layup to give SU a 12-2 lead, causing Stonehill head coach Chris Kraus to call a timeout. After hitting another triple, George was placed on the bench. In the four minutes George was out, Stonehill cut its deficit to 23-16.

When George reentered, he added two free throws and two layups, bringing his first-half total to a game-high 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Stonehill crept back in early in the second half, but George kept SU in front. His layup with 16:19 to play regained the Orange’s eight-point lead before a media timeout was called. He also made three free throws and forced a steal that led to a Kingz bucket, giving SU a 66-45 lead that sealed the game.

Can’t count on the free throw

Syracuse is getting far too familiar with missing the easiest shot in basketball: the free throw. The Orange entered Monday shooting 60.1% from the charity stripe, the fourth-worst mark in the nation, per KenPom. Autry said SU would regularly be scoring over 80 points a night if it were hitting its free throws. Each game, that statement looks more and more true.

SU finished Monday’s contest 14-of-29 from the line, its second time below 50% this year. It’s ironic, as Stonehill’s 62.1% opponent-free-throw percentage — a metric that tells nearly nothing about a team — ranked fifth in the country.

All five players who went to the line for Syracuse missed at least one free throw, with White missing a team-high five. Meanwhile, the Skyhawks shot 65% on free throws, staying around when given extra opportunities.

The Orange also converted 12 second-chance points and drew 25 fouls, their third-most in a game this season. It didn’t matter, though, as SU couldn’t count on the free throw in its third straight win.

Applying the putaway punch

With one minute left in the first half, Autry was seen covering his eyes and facing down, almost as if avoiding the performance in front of him. Stonehill was amid a 6-0 run and cut SU’s lead to eight. Once again, Syracuse couldn’t apply the putaway punch.

Eleven seconds into the second half, Davante Hackett buried a wide-open corner 3-pointer to cut the Skyhawks’ deficit to 39-30. Less than three minutes later, Sunderland matched Hackett to bring Syracuse’s lead to six, its smallest since SU led 8-2 two minutes into the first half.

It was a familiar scene for the Orange, who lost the second half to Northeastern, Mercyhurst and Hofstra in their last three games. Things got worse when Akir Souare attempted his second 3 of the season and airballed, all but forcing Autry to replace him with Kyle.

Stonehill went on a seven-minute scoring drought, hitting 18% of its second-half shots halfway through the frame, but SU wasn’t much better, shooting just 36% at the time.

The final 10 minutes were steadier for Syracuse, as it outscored Stonehill 26-9 in that stretch, but it’s still discouraging to see the Orange make the same late mistakes game after game.

Published on December 22, 2025 at 9:25 pm
Contact: jordankimball28@gmail.com | @JordanKimball_