The Orange are off to their best start since 2017 with win over Monmouth
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse stayed perfect Tuesday night, surviving their first true scare of the season, edging Monmouth 78-73 to improve to 4-0.
Adjustments were made for the Orange with J.J. Starling returning from a brief injury stint. He rejoined the starting lineup, pushing Kiyan Anthony back to the bench after two straight starts. Starling finished with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting but is still working out the kinks.
“There’s a little rust, I don’t think I prepared the way I should have. So, moving forward, I’m going to make sure my preparation is better,” Starling said.
Some rust came on the defensive side and from the free throw line. After holding the first three opponents to under 50 points, the Orange found themselves in a 74-72 game with less than a minute.
Part of that was the inconsistency from the charity stripe. The team shot just 17-for-33 from free throw, with 12 of the makes coming from Donnie Freeman. He led the way with 19 points and Nate Kingz added 15 points, finding his shot by hitting three 3-pointers.
“I’m trying to keep everybody’s head high and encouraging them like they did for me because that trust factor with your teammates helps a lot,” Kingz said.
The rest of the offense flowed through Naithan George, who filled up the stat sheet with 12 points, nine assists and six rebounds. That level of stability is something the Orange need to put together a full 40-minute effort against elite competition.
“It’s about our energy and effort,” Coach Adrian Autry said. “We hit too many dips. If we can play with more consistent energy and communication, we’ll be okay.”
The Orange now prepare to head to Las Vegas for the biggest challenge of the non-conference in the Players Era Tournament, where they face No. 2 Houston on Monday.