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The Syracuse Orange (13-10, 4-6) looked like they were headed for an embarrassing performance but a late rally showed some fight as they drop a 87-77 decision to the #19 North Carolina Tar Heels (18-4, 6-3).
Donnie Freeman led Syracuse with 23 points and 8 rebounds. Naithan George (15) and JJ Starling (13) were finally effective late in the game as the Orange scored 32 points in the final 7:30 of play. Caleb Wilson led UNC with 22 points and 9 rebounds. Henri Veesar added 17 and 11 for the Tar Heels.
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It was a slow and sloppy start for both teams as the game went to the first media timeout with Caleb Wilson leading Syracuse 4-2. UNC got their offense going first and pulled ahead 11-2 before the Orange bench was activated and Donnie Freeman got going with 6 points and got Syracuse back within 2 at 12-10.
Then came another dip as UNC got a 5-0 run that forced a timeout from Adrian Autry. That didn’t help matters as the Tar Heels extended to a 25-12 lead including a “four-steps this time” 3 from Jonathan Powell.
Syracuse fought back though and a 3 from Freeman made it 29-23 with 4:24 to go. It looked like maybe the Orange had found some steady ground, but then the turnover trouble re-emerged. Carolina closed the half on a 19-9 run including 12 points in the final 2:20 of the half as Autry tried to get Freeman some rest.
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Syracuse went into the break down 46-32 and it was only that close after Freeman banked in a 3 at the buzzer. He finished with 18 points and 6 rebounds, but 9 Orange turnovers helped UNC to get easy shots as they finished the half shooting 53% from the field and 55% from 3- led by Wilson’s 13 points.
The bank shot didn’t provide any lift after the break Syracuse’s struggles continued. UNC poured it on starting with a 23-8 run as the ESPN broadcast turned into an extended preview of this weekend’s UNC-Duke game.
It was 73-45 with 7:30 to play but something got Syracuse to finally wake up. The Orange showed some heart as they cut…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/syracuse-charge-falls-short-87-023143505.html
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Publish date : 2026-02-03 02:31:00
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