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Syracuse entered its game against Georgia Tech allowing the most points in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Orange had given up 79.7 points per contest, and all three of their conference games had resulted in losses. Most recently, SU allowed Florida State to score 90 points, the second time it allowed an opponent to reach that mark in regulation in 2024-25. The Seminoles shot 53.6% from the floor.

However, against Georgia Tech, the Orange flipped the script. Syracuse (7-8, 1-3 ACC) executed one of its best defensive performances Tuesday night to win 62-55 over the Yellow Jackets (8-8, 2-3 ACC) and secure its first ACC victory of the season. The Orange finished with six blocks and maintained the lead for all but four minutes.

SU’s effort helped it shut down a GT team that entered with the fifth-most made 3s (118) in the conference. However, the Orange held the Jackets to 4-of-21 shooting from beyond the arc.

“We played a good offensive team, and we kept them to 55 points, so that’s a good step for us,” center Eddie Lampkin Jr. said.

Despite shooting the ball poorly at times, SU head coach Adrian Autry was proud of how the Orange “found a way to gut it out.”

Syracuse dug deep without its second-leading scorer Donnie Freeman, who missed the game with a foot injury. Instead, other players stepped up. Autry went with a starting five that featured two bigs in Jyáre Davis and Lampkin. Jaquan Carlos, who has been SU’s starting point guard, came off the bench.

Syracuse kept GT off the board for the first four minutes, holding the Yellow Jackets to 0-for-6 shooting to start the game.

Once Georgia Tech found nylon for the first time, Syracuse made it tougher for it to find that same success again. With SU ahead 7-2, J.J. Starling denied Javian McCollum inside the arc.

The rejection kickstarted a series of blocks by the Orange. Petar Majstorovic, who entered the game with just two blocks on the season, doubled his season tally in quick succession.

With SU’s offense struggling, having turned the ball over on its last two possessions, Majstorovic ensured GT wouldn’t cut into its lead. At the 12:27 mark of the first half, Naithan George got into the lane, but Majstorovic got a hand up before his shot could reach the rim. A couple minutes later, he rerouted a Baye Ndongo jumper.

Then, with SU leading 16-11, Majstorovic took the ball away from Duncan Powell. During Majstorovic’s six minutes in the first half, he was able to help Syracuse maintain its five-point edge on Georgia Tech.

When the Serbian went to the bench, it didn’t take long for someone else to step up. GT’s leading scorer Lance Terry looked to take advantage of an open lane, but Lampkin slid to deny him of the opportunity. The rejection marked SU’s fourth block of the first half.

At one point Syracuse missed four straight shots late in the first half.

“Nobody was making shots and it was a slug fest,” Autry said. “I loved the way we kept playing, I thought we made some big plays in the half court. I thought we made some big plays in transition.”

SU’s defense put in work to limit second chances for Georgia Tech. Starling and Davis corralled boards, which led to a quick five points by Lucas Taylor to give SU a 23-19 lead late in the first half.

Over the final three minutes and thirty seconds of the first half, the Orange held the Jackets to 2-of-7 shooting to take a 25-24 lead into halftime.

Out of the break, Syracuse constrained Georgia Tech to just six points in the first seven minutes. The Orange were stung for 54 second-half points by the Seminoles on Saturday but corrected course three days later.

“The whole week of practice was defense, defense, defense,” Starling said. “Knowing the scouting report and keys to the game and we really did a good job locking in on that.”

When Syracuse allowed an 8-0 run in the middle of the second half, Georgia Tech took its first lead at 38-35. Yet, it wasn’t fazed. It grabbed the next three rebounds and went on a 12-2 run of its own.

Once up 48-42, the Orange continued to control the boards and Starling registered his second block of the game.

Riding its defense and Starling’s hot shooting hand, SU closed out the game on a 6-3 run in the final minute to earn the victory.

The Yellow Jackets entered the game with four players averaging double figures, but only two players tallied 10 or more points. GT shot a measly 36.4% from the field with usual double-digit scorers Ndongo and McCollum combining to shoot 6-of-22.

“We played defense together,” Starling said “We made the right rotations, and it wasn’t always perfect, but we played really hard.”

Published on January 8, 2025 at 12:42 am

Contact Timmy at: tswilcox@syr.edu | @TimmyWilcox32