Syracuse played their first true road game of the season and were absolutely drubbed by #3 Tennessee in the ACC-SEC Challenge, 96-70. The Orange (4-2) were able to stay within arm’s reach in the first half, but the Volunteers (8-0) blew the game wide open with a 15-4 run shortly after halftime, effectively ending the game with over 13 minutes on the clock.
SU was completely overmatched inside, getting routed on the glass, 40-26. Tennessee grabbed 13 offensive rebounds on the night and also had a 44-28 advantage in points in the paint. They built most of that difference inside in the first half, then added an 8-for-14 shooting effort beyond the arc to blow out Syracuse after halftime.
The Orange got the opening basket of the night, but gave up the next eight points to fall into a quick hole. SU retained their composure, chipping the margin down to a single point with back-to-back scoring possessions.
The two teams traded buckets a couple times, then the Volunteers started to gradually stretch out their lead, pushing it to 24-18 at the midpoint of the opening half and forcing a Syracuse timeout. The break did not help, as Tennessee added a putback and a four-point play on their next two trips to double the lead to a dozen.
The Orange responded, posting seven of the next nine points to clip the deficit to 32-25 with just under seven minutes to play in the half, then Chris Bell hit a 3-pointer out of the media time out to pull them within four. The Vols responded with the next seven points, rebuilding their lead to 39-28.
The gap stayed in double digits to the break and a Jaquan Carlos turnaround before the horn clipped the Tennessee advantage to 45-35 lead at halftime. SU hung tight for the first couple minutes of the second half, but consecutive scores by the hosts forced Adrian Autry to call timeout with the Vols lead at 55-39 three-and-a-half minutes into the second half.
The break in the action did not help, as Tennessee went on a 10-4 run when the action resumed, pushing their lead to 65-43. The hosts kept up the pressure, eventually running off 12 straight points to push their advantage to 85-53 with 6:33 to play.
The Volunteers intensity lowered after that, allowing Syracuse to stitch together an 8-1 run to get within 25 with just over three minutes remaining, but it was far too little, too late
Elijah Moore scored a career-high 24 points in 30 minutes of play off the bench, hitting 8-of-12 shots, including three triples. Bell added 12 points while Donnie Freeman added ten and Jyare Davis nine.
Five different Volunteers reached double digits, paced by Chaz Lanier’s 26. Zakai Ziegler added 14 points while Jordan Gainey and Cade Phillips each scored a dozen. Igor Milicic needed just 19 minutes to post an 11-point, ten-rebound double-double.
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