J.J. Starling scored 21 points to guide Syracuse to a 62-55 home victory over Georgia Tech on Tuesday.
Chris Bell added 13 points for the Orange (7-8, 1-3 ACC), who posted their first win against a power-conference opponent this season. Eddie Lampkin chipped in 10 points and 12 rebounds for Syracuse.
The Yellow Jackets (8-8, 2-3) had their three-game winning streak snapped despite 18 points from Lance Terry and 13 from Naithan George.
The key sequence of the game began with Starling’s 3-pointer midway through the second half. That bucket tied the score at 38-38 and ignited a 12-2 run by the hosts.
Lampkin scored seven points during the burst, including a three-point play with 8:29 left that gave the Orange a 47-40 lead.
The Yellow Jackets kept fighting, as they trimmed an eight-point deficit with less than four minutes left down to 58-55 on Terry’s 3-pointer with 34 seconds remaining.
However, Starling and Bell each went 2-of-2 from the foul line to seal the victory.
Syracuse scored the game’s first five points and led by a small margin throughout the duration of the first half. The Orange were in front by four in the final minute before Terry’s 3-pointer made it a 25-24 game at the break.
The teams combined to shoot 32.8 percent from the field in the first half, including a collective 5-of-23 from long range. There were also 18 turnovers in the first half and zero made free throws by either team.
The teams jockeyed back and forth in the early portions of the second half.
Syracuse led by three when Terry scored four straight points to put Georgia Tech in front for the first time. Jyare Davis then responded with a pair of buckets to help the Orange kick off a 6-0 run as they went ahead 35-30.
From there, the Yellow Jackets regained the momentum, as four different Georgia Tech players scored during an 8-0 run that flipped the scoreboard in favor of the visitors.
Syracuse prevailed down the stretch en route to its second win in the last six games.
–Field Level Media
