Syracuse men’s basketball struggled to keep pace down the stretch, falling 77-64 to No. 16 North Carolina on Saturday afternoon in front of a sellout crowd at the JMA Wireless Dome.
The loss dropped the Orange to 15-13 overall and 6-9 in Atlantic Coast play, while the Tar Heels improved to 21-6 and 9-5 in conference action.
J.J. Starling led the Orange with 22 points, marking his fourth 20-point performance of the season. Donnie Freeman finished with nine points before being ejected with 1:44 remaining after receiving his second technical foul. Syracuse shot just 3-for-17 from three-point range and struggled offensively late after remaining competitive for much of the afternoon.
Henri Veesaar paced North Carolina with 19 points and three blocks in his return from injury, while Luka Bogavac added 13 points as the Tar Heels controlled the second half.
Syracuse led early before North Carolina claimed a 17-14 advantage midway through the first half and never trailed again. The Orange trimmed the deficit to 33-28 at halftime and opened the second half with a push, tying the game at 36-36 less than three minutes after the break.
A fastbreak dunk by William Kyle III later evened the contest at 44-44 with 12:07 remaining, but Syracuse could not regain the lead. North Carolina responded with an 8-0 run to seize control and gradually extended its advantage behind transition scoring and interior play.
Tyler Betsey’s three-pointer cut the deficit to 67-57 with just over three minutes remaining, but the Tar Heels answered with eight straight points to put the game away.
GAME RECAP LINKS
- Syracuse falls 77-64 to No. 16 North Carolina, drops 8th Quad 1 game (DailyOrange.com)
- North Carolina 77, Syracuse 64: Tar Heels flatten Orange (NunesMagician.com)
- Offense falters again as Syracuse falls at home to North Carolina (SI.com)
- Observations from SU’s loss to UNC: 3-point struggles, life without Wilson (DailyOrange.com)
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
ADRIAN AUTRY’S POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
FROM SOCIAL MEDIA
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].