Syracuse closed out a fruitless trip to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, dropping the third place game in the Legends Classic to Texas Tech, 79-74. The Orange (3-2) were game early, but struggled on offense after halftime, making only seven shots from the field in the half before the final 30 seconds of play. The Red Raiders (5-1) kept SU in the game by repeatedly sending them to the foul line, but an 11-2 run gave them enough breathing room to withstand the foul shot barrage.
Once again, Syracuse struggled from the perimeter, shooting just 28.6 percent from 3-point range, and they added poor ball security to it. The Orange gave the ball away 12 times in the game while only forcing three turnovers. As a result, Texas Tech held an 18-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
That sloppy play offset an impressive 39-30 rebounding lead for SU, including grabbing ten offensive boards in 31 chances for a 32.3 percent offensive rebounding rate.
Syracuse got off to a better start than in Thursday night’s loss to Texas, briefly taking the lead in the opening minutes before the Red Raiders jumped back in front. Texas Tech rarely led by more than a single possession in the opening ten minutes while the Orange forced four ties in that time.
The Red Raiders did stitch together a 13-6 run after the midpoint of the half to take their biggest lead to that point at 29-22 with a little over five minutes remaining. SU hurt themselves in that span by committing four turnovers before righting their ship.
J.J. Starling led that correction, leading a 9-2 burst to close the half. The junior guard had half of his 14 first half points in the run, dropping in a couple lay-ups to start things, then capping the streak with a 3-pointer that tied the game at 31 a side before the break.
Syracuse struck first after play resumed with a pair of foul shots from Donnie Freeman, but Tech responded with four straight points to take the lead. The Orange forced a pair of ties, but a pair of triples gave the Red Raiders the first of two six-point advantages.
SU cut the lead back down to two, but Texas Tech wrested control with a quick run that gave them plenty of breathing room. The Red Raiders needed just over two minutes to drop an 11-2 burst and take a 55-44 lead with just under 11 minutes remaining.
That lead would stretch to a dozen points, but Syracuse chipped away, scoring nine out of 13 points during one span to pull within 64-59 with five-and-a-half minutes remaining. The Orange could only match scores for the next five minutes, never getting closer than five with Texas Tech putting them away by making 8-of-10 from the line in the final minute of play.
Starling led all scorers with 27 points, making 9-of-15 shots in the game. Chris Bell was the only other player in double figures with 22 points, including a pristine 11-for-11 mark from the free throw stripe. Elijah Moore chipped in with eight points while Freeman had a game-high 13 rebounds.
Darrion Williams led four red Raiders in double figures with 20 points. J.T. Toppin added 15 points while also blocking three shots. Chance McMillan tallied 13 markers while Elijah Hawkins chipped in with 11.
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