Eddie Lampkin Shines in Syracuse’s Loss to North Carolina

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – You can hear it in his voice, you can see it in his eyes, Eddie Lampkin is tired of losing. The fifth-year transfer from Colorado and TCU has scored more than 20 points and added at least ten boards in each of his last two games. Syracuse has lost both of them. The Orange (11-15, 5-10 ACC) fell 88-82 to the Tar Heels (15-11, 8-6 ACC) on Saturday, February 15.

Lampkin finished with a team-leading 26 points and 11 rebounds, but he is still looking for ways to improve in his final year of college basketball.

“Trying to cut down my turnovers, really that’s my main thing. I really don’t care about scoring the ball or getting rebounds, I do it to help my team win,” says Lampkin.

That unselfish attitude wasn’t enough on Saturday.

Syracuse junior J.J. Starling finished the first half with just two points after taking two early fouls. Syracuse’s offense stalled without their lead guard. The Orange only shot 40% from the field and 33.3% from three in the first half. Syracuse was also perfect, 3 of 3 from the foul line. Lampkin had nine points in the first half, while Syracuse senior and Raleigh native Lucas Taylor added 8 points. Taylor hit two threes in the first half and was a perfect 4 for 4 from the field on the night.

The Tar Heels shot 45% from the field and 46.7% from beyond the arc in the first half, but went only 3 of 6 from the free throw line. Former five-star recruit and Bronx native Ian Jackson set the tone early for North Carolina. The freshman stole the show, and the ball, right out from under Syracuse junior Chris Bell before racing down the court for an emphatic slam dunk. It was the start of a 7-2 run for UNC. Jackson had 16 points in the first half. He shot 6 of 9 from the field and 4 of 6 three-point land in the first half but missed two free throw attempts.

Syracuse headed to the locker room trailing 42-36 at halftime.

Starling came back with a vengeance in the second half. With his team now trailing 60-53, the Baldwinsville native scored seven straight points, capped by a three-point play to tie the game. Lampkin added 17 points on 5 of 7 shooting and went 7 of 8 from the foul line. The dynamic duo combined for 37 of the team’s 48 second half points. Syracuse shot 48.4% from the field in the second half and 89.5% from the line. However, the Orange shot 25% from beyond the arc and finished with just one made three in the half.

Fifth-year Jae’Lyn Withers gave the Tar Heels some breathing room later in the half. The former Louisville Cardinal hit a jumper and two layups with a free throw sandwiched between them to extend the lead from 65-64 to 72-64. Fellow fifth-year R.J. Davis, the last remaining member of the Iron Five that led the Tar Heels to a National Championship appearance in 2022, went 2 of 5 from the field, hitting two three-pointers and going 5 of 6 from the line. North Carolina shot 53.8% from the floor, hitting 46.2% of their three-point attempts, and improved to hit 70.6% of their foul shots.

Trailing 81-73, Syracuse went on a 9-1 run that included a three-point play by Starling to make it 82-80. North Carolina Sophomore Elliot Cadeau extended the lead back to four with a timely layup before the Tar Heels sealed the victory with clutch free throws from Davis and freshman Drake Powell.

North Carolina shot lights out against the Orange. They hit 49.2% of their shots and 46.4% from three-point land. The Tar Heels could have run away with it if not for their poor results at the free throw line, where they shot 65.3%.

Syracuse sunk just 43.9% of their shots from the field and 30.8% of their three-point attempts. The Orange shot 90.9% from the free throw line.

The last time UNC Head Coach Hubert Davis was in Syracuse, he was on the wrong side of an upset victory. The North Carolina coach says it had no impact on tonight’s game, but did offer high praise for Starling.

“He’s one of the better players, not only in our conference but in the country, and you can’t stop him. You’re just hoping you can defend him without fouling and not put him on the free throw line,” said Davis.

The fourth-year head coach also praised Withers for battling through adversity. The second-year UNC forward was poked in the eye during practice, before coming out and dropping 19 points; the most he’s scored as a Tar Heel and one short of his career high. Davis said it was Withers best game at North Carolina, and has a new strategy to motivate Withers in the future.

“I’m going to poke him in the eye on Monday.”

Syracuse Head Coach Adrian Autry praised Lampkin’s work ethic in an otherwise uneven performance for the Orange.

“He prepares and comes everyday, shows up, he works. He had some issues earlier, you know? For a good middle part of the season, but he kept working,” said Autry.

Syracuse is back in action on Tuesday, February 18, when they travel to Petersen Events Center to take on the Pittsburgh Panthers (15-10, 6-8 ACC). Syracuse lost their first meeting against Pittsburgh 77-73 on Saturday, January 23. The Orange need every win they can scrounge up as they struggle to secure an ACC Tournament bid. Lampkin believes the Orange have what it takes.

“Just compete for 40 minutes and just take advantage of what they give us and be more aggressive and I need to play more aggressive. And just get on the glass and just box out and try to win,” says Lampkin.