Syracuse claimed their first conference win of the season by wresting a defensive struggle away from Georgia Tech at the JMA Wireless Dome, 62-55. One reason the Orange (7-8, 1-3 ACC) struggled on offense was the absence of Donnie Freeman, who missed the game with his right foot in a walking boot. SU, however, was able to squeak out enough offense and force a poor shooting night from the Yellow Jackets (8-8, 2-3), who entered the game on a three-game win streak.

Syracuse held the guests to just 36.4 percent shooting in the game, including 4-of-21 (19.0 percent) from 3-point range. The Orange were not much better shooting the ball, making just 413 percent of their shots and only 4-of-20 3’s, but had a healthy advantage in chasing it down, holding a 48-39 rebounding edge.

That work on the glass helped offset another sloppy night with the ball, as SU turned the ball over 18 times. Tech simply could not do much with those gifts, as they scored just 12 points off those Syracuse miscues.

The Orange defense was solid at the jump, forcing six straight misses and a shot clock violation to start the game. Unfortunately, SU could do just a little more on the other end, grabbing a couple early five-point leads before the opening media break.

The Yellow Jackets pulled back within one as Jaeden Mustaf piled up six straight points for them, but Chris Bell entered the game and continued his hot shooting from Saturday, knocking down his first three shots for a personal 7-2 run, leaving Syracuse holding a 16-11 lead with 9:30 left in the first half.

Georgia Tech responded with their own 7-2 run to get right back within a single point, but Lucas Taylor drained a 3-pointer to stop the threat and boost the Orange lead to 21-17. The two teams alternated scores the rest of the half and a Jacket triple closed the scoring to pull them within 25-24 at intermission.

The second half started similar to how the first half ended, only the guests were able to claim their first lead of the night at 30-29 about three-and-a-half minutes into the second half. SU responded with the next half dozen points on a pair of Jyare Davis baskets and a J.J. Starling layup to go back on top by five.

The Yellow Jackets needed just a little over two minutes to run off eight straight and grab their largest lead to that point at 38-35 with just over 11 minutes to play. Eddie Lampkin (seven points) and Starling (five) answered with the best offense of the night from Syracuse, authoring a 12-2 run for the largest Orange margin to that point at 47-40 with 8:29 on the clock.

Tech drew within four once again, but a Bell lay-up and a Starling putback boosted the SU advantage to 52-44 and forced the visitors to call time out with 4:13 remaining. The Yellow Jackets trimmed the margin down to four, then the teams traded tallies twice.

After a Syracuse timeout, Davis hit a fadeaway to extend the lead to six, but Georgia Tech answered with a 3-pointer to make it a one-possession game at 58-55, then called time out with 27.8 seconds to play. Starling was fouled on the inbound and made both free throws to push the lead to five. Tech missed a triple with Bell rebounding and getting fouled. His foul shots made it a 62-55 game and SU held on for the last possession.

Only five players scored for the Orange, led by Starling‘s 21, including 13 after the break. Bell came off the bench for the second straight game and hit the teens again, this time tallying 13. Lampkin had his fourth double-double of the year, adding a dozen boards to his ten points. Taylor also had ten points while Davis fell shy of his second double-double with eight points and nine rebounds.

Lance Terry led the way for Georgia Tech with 18 points. Naithan George was the only other Yellow Jacket in double figures with 13. Mustaf added eight points, all in the first half.

----

Chat about this story and all things Syracuse and Syracuse recruiting on our premium message board, Cuse Classified!

Follow us on Twitter @TheJuiceOnline, like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram @SUJuiceOnline and listen to our podcast.

Tips/questions/concerns? E-mail Recruiting Analyst Charles Kang here.

Not a subscriber to The Juice Online? Join today for access to all our premium content and message board community.