Published Feb 9, 2025
Observations: JJ Starling leads Syracuse to 3OT win
Aidan Tseng  •  The Juice Online
Staff Writer

Syracuse wins a triple-overtime thriller against Boston College (10-13, 2-10) and picks up win number 11 on the year. In a game lasting almost three hours Syracuse just had one more move than the Eagles and came out victorious. Syracuse travels to Miami to play the ‘Canes on Tuesday and welcomes North Carolina to town on Saturday. Here are five takeaways from the wild wild win over Boston College.

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Elijah Moore provides a spark

Elijah Moore scored the first eight points for the Orange making his first three shots. In the first possession of the game the offense stalled until Moore let it fly and drained a deep 3.

His second 3 came from a catch and shoot opportunity assisted by Jyare Davis. The freshman also created his own offense going to the bucket and finding a layup. Moore played 17 minutes (11 in the first half, 6 in the second) and didn’t miss from 3-point range.

“I thought Elijah gave us a huge boost to keep us in it,” Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry said. “In the first half, he was great.”

Moore had his highest point total in a game since Maryland in December.

“He had a time where he wasn't really making shots and offensively," Autry said. "He wasn't there. Now, he's picking that up,."

Carlos steps up on defense.

Jaquan Carlos was fantastic defensively. He played 32 minutes including every minute in the three overtimes. In the first half he was part of the Syracuse second unit that only gave up five points during a stretch of the first half.

Later in the game, Carlos was aggressive on defense going for the ball and caused multiple steals, one preventing Boston College from hoisting a game winner. Carlos and Petar Majstorovic ran effective double teams down the stretch resulting in stops.

“Stats can't define what [Carlos and Majstorovic] bring to the game,” Autry said. “I thought [Carlos] steadied the ship when he got back in [the game] and allowed JJ off the ball to make plays.”

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Starling takes the team home

JJ Starling was the guy for Syracuse offense, finishing with 28 points on 22 shots making two 3-pointers. Starling only had four points going into halftime but he came out the tunnel with something to prove. With the Eagles and the Orange trading buckets to start the second half, Starling stepped up, scoring seven straight.

Starling missed a free throw with 11 seconds left in 2OT that would’ve given Syracuse the lead. He still kept a level head and was able to help his team run away with it in the third overtime.

“[Starling] got a chance to step up and make a couple of free throws that could have maybe ended it, but it didn't happen, but he kept going,” Autry said. “That's maturity, and that's your maturation, and when you're a guy, you have to be able to do that. You have to be able to move on to the next play, and I thought he did a phenomenal job of that today.”

Chris Bell was clutch

With Syracuse down early to start second overtime, Autry brought in Chris Bell which paid off as Syracuse were able to force a third overtime after being down as much as seven. Bell went 5-6 from the free throw line, which was clutch considering the rest of the team went 13-26.

Bell knocked down two free throws in the second overtime and two more in the third to put the game out of reach. He finished with 12 points and had the best +/- of any player, while also snagging six rebounds and had a steal helping Syracuse stay in the fight during second overtime.

“I thought Chris did a, you know, phenomenal job defending late in those overtimes,” Autry said.

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Lampkin bounced back

Eddie Lampkin had a less than ideal game against Duke, but the big man bounced back in major fashion. After only playing 18 minutes against the Blue Devils, Lampkin played the most minutes of any Orange player with 49.

Lampkin had 18 rebounds (12 on defense six on offense) and 14 points after finishing with 7 boards and 2 points against the Blue Devils.

“Whatever I had to do to help my team win the game, I was good,” Lampkin said.

Lampkin’s 18 rebounds were the most for all players as no one else had more than eight. Rebounds were one of the few statistics Syracuse enjoyed a large margin, and this wouldn't have been possible without Lampkin.

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