Syracuse falls 76-74 to Virginia Tech, drops to .500 in ACC play
Donnie Freeman scored a season-low 10 points on three made field goals in Syracuse's two-point loss to Virginia Tech Wednesday. Eli Schwartz | Asst. Photo Editor
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Adrian Autry put his head down, walked toward the end of Syracuse’s bench and stood motionless for a few seconds. While Neoklis Avdalas missed the second free throw of what would’ve given Virginia Tech a four-point lead with five seconds, SU failed to corral the rebound that would’ve given it a chance to tie the game.
Instead, the Hokies’ Tobi Lawal got the board before getting fouled and made two more free throws to close the game.
Following an 18-turnover Quad 3 loss to Atlantic Coast Conference bottom-feeder Boston College, Syracuse (12-7, 3-3 Atlantic Coast) dropped its second consecutive game with a 76-74 loss to Virginia Tech (15-5, 4-3 Atlantic Coast) Wednesday. The defeat drops the Orange to .500 in ACC play, and their schedule only gets more challenging with seven of their remaining 13 games being Quad 1 matchups.
Even with the loss, SU had plenty of chances to overcome its nine-point deficit in the final minute. While seven straight points from Tyler Betsey and Donnie Freeman cut the score to 70-67 with 32 seconds remaining, VT successfully inbounded the ball before Lawal made two free throws.
J.J. Starling then quickly got inside for an easy deuce, and the Hokies’ second turnover in the final minute regained SU possession. Trailing 72-69, the Orange dialed up a clean 3-point look for Nate Kingz with 15 seconds remaining, but it missed the mark. VT got the ensuing rebound before Avdalas split his attempts from the free-throw line.
Starling then raced inside for another easy 2, making the score 73-71 with 7.5 seconds to go. SU wouldn’t score again until Naithan George knocked down a 3 to beat the buzzer and end the game 76-74.
The real gut punch, though, came when both programs were looking for a lift while Virginia Tech led 54-53 at the 6:54 mark. VT got it from Ben Hammond, who finished with a game-high 24 points.
First, he got inside for a teardrop floater that gave the Hokies a three-point lead. On the ensuing possession, Avdalas picked Sadiq White’s pocket, which led Hammond to convert a transition and-1. After he made the free throw, Virginia Tech led 59-53 with 5:50 remaining — its then-largest lead of the game.
The turnover was SU’s seventh of the second half after coughing up the ball five times in the first half. The Orange finished with 14 turnovers one game after Autry said “18 turnovers is crazy.”
George’s first made field goal cut the score to 59-55, but the Hokies extended their lead to 62-55 after a Lawal made free throw and Avdalas got inside for 2 with 3:26 remaining. That was the Orange’s last field goal before the score was out of reach with under a minute remaining.
Despite the loss, Syracuse was in control for most of the game behind its hot shooting start from deep. Kingz drained a triple for its first points, which was one of seven first-half 3s the Orange made before making just three in the second half.
While the Hokies imposed their will inside early, scoring their first 10 points from near the rim, a Freeman 3 — one of his season-low three made field goals en route to 10 points — tied the score 10-10 at the under-16 timeout.
Backed by another Kingz triple and a corner 3 from Betsey, SU went on a 10-3 run to take a 20-13 lead, which forced VT head coach Mike Young to take a timeout. Out of the break, White drained SU’s fifth 3-pointer, giving it a 23-13 lead.
Despite taking a 10-point lead, the Orange failed to extend the advantage, taking a 37-30 lead heading into the locker room. Beyond shooting 7-of-12 from the 3-point line — against a Hokies defense that was the 10th-best nationally defending the 3 entering Wednesday — SU had nine assists on 13 made field goals while turning the ball over just five times. Meanwhile, William Kyle III was the Orange’s only player with 10 points at the break.
The beginning of the second half saw Virginia Tech cut its deficit to four, but a Kingz triple before the under-16 timeout helped SU retain a seven-point lead at 44-37. However, that was Syracuse’s last made field goal for over five minutes. During that span, the Hokies went on a 9-1 run to take a 46-45 lead before White ended the drought with an alley-oop slam dunk.
After playing a season-low five minutes against Boston College, White finished Wednesday with 11 points across 15 minutes. The freshman’s dunk gave SU a 49-48 lead with 8:39 remaining.
Though the Hokies took a 51-49 lead over the next minute, another White dunk tied the score 51-51. The teams then traded free throws from Hammond and Starling to tie the game 53-53 with 7:15 remaining. However, that was as close as SU got to the lead for the rest of the game.
The season is still far from over, even with a loss. But in a potential make-or-break year for Autry, the hot seat is only getting hotter.
