Syracuse lost their third straight against Virginia 67-62. It was going to be a tough game to win with starting Forward Benny Williams being out for the game. For the most part, it was a nip and tuck game.
Syracuse started off very slow, going down 10-2 within the first few minutes. Head Coach Jim Boeheim immediately called a timeout. After the timeout, Syracuse was able to get their offense going and were able to eventually take the lead 24-23 with about eight minutes left in the first half. Syracuse was down 36-35 at halftime.
Judah Mintz was spectacular in the first half, scoring 10 points on 5-7 shooting. Mintz did most of his damage getting to the mid-range and the basket. In addition, Maliq Brown also had a great half, scoring six points in 3-3 shooting and having four rebounds.
Syracuse mostly did their damage in the paint, scoring 26 points to Virginia’s eight, but even though Virginia couldn’t get many points in the paint, they had excellent three-point shooting, going 6-10. Every player from Virginia’s starting lineup made a 3-pointer except Jayden Gardner.
In the second half, Virginia was up as much as seven points, leading 46-39 until Syracuse then went on a 12-0 run to take a five point lead. Chris Bell was one of the main catalysts of the run, scoring six of the 12 points. He hit a three from an assist from Jesse Edwards to cut the lead down to 46-45. After hitting a three to cut the lead to one, he got fouled on a three pointer and was able to hit all three of his free throws to get Syracuse up 48-46.
The game was pretty nip and tuck with it being tied at 57-57 with 5:12 left in the game, but Virginia was able to pull away in the final minutes. Reese Beekman got fouled and hit both his free throws to put Virginia up 59-57. Jesse Edwards was able to hit one of his two free throws to cut the deficit to one, but afterwards, Kiehi Clark was able to hit a three to get them up 62-58 with about three minutes left in the game.
Syracuse trailed 64-62 with about a minute left. Jesse Edwards tried to tie the game, driving to the basket, but he collided with Jayden Gardner and was called for an offensive foul. Gardner hit a jumper to put them up 66-62 with 30 seconds left, which iced the game.
Syracuse being 11-18 from the free throw line and 3-15 from three were critical factors in them not winning the game. Coach Boeheim said that shooting that poorly is a tough game to win against Virginia.
Syracuse will look to bounce back against Boston College this Saturday. Tipoff is at 5:00 p.m.