Second Half Rally Lifts the Orange to Victory over Notre Dame

Syracuse men’s basketball (9-9, 3-4 ACC) came from behind to defeat Notre Dame (8-10, 2-5 ACC) 77-69 at JMA Wireless Dome Saturday afternoon. A wild ending to the game saw Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsberry ejected from the contest. Syracuse would be awarded six free throws, hitting five of them to close with an eight-point victory. 

Syracuse’s Chris Bell fights for a losing ball against Notre Dame. Photo Credit: Ted Jacobs

Syracuse found itself down by as much as 17 points in the first half, but the heroics of JJ Starling sparked a furious Syracuse run. The dome erupted after the Orange took their first lead of the game with under 4 minutes remaining, following an Eddie Lampkin bucket and a foul. Starling finished with a team high 21 points on 7 of 20 shooting. 

Syracuse Orange star guard J.J Starling conducts the offense, looking for a bucket. Photo credit: Ted Jacobs

Notre Dame guard Marcus Burton was stellar in the contest, finishing with 28 points on 12 of 26 shooting. Syracuse went 8 of 24 from beyond the arc and shot 41% overall as a team. Notre Dame shot 42% as a team and went 5 of 14 from beyond the arc. 

Syracuse head coach Adrian “Red” Autry praised his team’s defensive intensity in the second half. “I’m just so proud of them. The way they defended. The way they were tough. The way they were resilient,” Autry said.

Syracuse Orange MBB head Coach Adrian Autry consoles Kyle Cuffe Jr. Photo credit: Ted Jacobs

Syracuse avenged their road loss to Notre Dame earlier this year. 

In the first half, it was Notre Dame who came out of the gates scorching. The Fighting Irish opened the game on an 11-0 run, and Notre Dame guard Marcus Burton scored a spectacular 22 points in the first half on 10 of 16 shooting.

A 9-2 Orange run towards the end of the half cut a 17 point Fighting Irish lead down to single digits. Notre Dame carried a 42-33 lead into the half.

Freshman Petar Majstorovic celebrates as the Orange take care of the Irish 77-69. Photo credit: Ted Jacobs.

Notre Dame opened the game 15 of 23 shooting and outrebounded Syracuse 20 to 14 in the first half. The Fighting Irish outscored the Orange in the paint 18 to 6.

The orange hit the road to face the Clemson Tigers on January 22nd. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.