LAS VEGAS — “This second half of today’s game … it’s not who we are,” head coach Adrian Autry said as he sat at the press conference table alone, with no Syracuse student-athlete in sight.
On day 3 of the Players Era Festival and playing their third game in three days, the Orange had one last matchup against No. 15 Iowa State.
Syracuse started sluggish, turning the ball over on its first possession and three times in the first five minutes. The Orange managed to play through the mistakes long enough to take an 18–16 lead with 8:53 left in the first half.
The next few minutes seemed like a slight case of déjà vu. Syracuse turnover, Iowa State transition dunk. Syracuse turnover, Iowa State transition lay. Syracuse turnover, Iowa State transition three, and just like that a 12-0 run put the Cyclones up 28-10, forcing a Syracuse timeout.
Out of the timeout, a Naithan George 3-pointer sparked the run the Orange needed, showing the “level-five fight, energy, and effort” Autry has been preaching. Two more 3s from Nate Kingz and Tyler Betsy tied the game at 28, matching the Cyclones’ run with a 10–0 surge of their own.
It was a one-point game at halftime. The Orange were shooting 42% from 3 and had clawed out of an early deficit, but then the switch flipped off.
“We didn’t fight. We fought every half up until this last half of this game today,” Autry said.
That level-five fight quickly dropped to a level one. Iowa State opened the half on a 20–5 run and hit its first eight shots, demoralizing the Orange as the Cyclones scored bucket after bucket.
The more Iowa State scored, the less Syracuse resisted. Lazy passes and poor transition defense allowed the Cyclones to do whatever they wanted, outscoring Syracuse 60–30 in the half.
Milan Momcilovic had 16 of his 24 points in the second half, including six threes, to lead Iowa State.
Sadiq White scored 14 for Syracuse, which missed all nine of its second-half three-point attempts and committed a season-high 19 turnovers.
Even with three straight losses and without leading scorer Donnie Freeman, Autry said he remains proud of how his team competed over the past two and a half games.
“If we stay connected and we play our brand of basketball, with that group of men in there we’ll have a chance to beat anybody,” Autry said.