Syracuse (2-0) led by as many as 13 points in the second half and gave up all of that lead, only to escape Colgate (1-2) in the final minute at the JMA Wireless Dome, 74-72. The Orange (2-0) got a bucket from Eddie Lampkin Jr. in the final minute, then held off three different possessions from the Raiders to pull out the win.
SU turned a three-point halftime advantage into that 13-point lead thanks to an 13-3 burst in under three minutes. Lampkin played a big part by starting things off with a backdoor pass for a Chris Bell and-one dunk, then adding a 3-pointer and a lay-up before a Donnie Freeman basket pushed the Orange lead to 49-36.
SU held the lead for a couple minutes, but a quintet of mostly reserves could not hold as the Raiders put together a 12-2 run to trim their deficit to 57-55 and force a timeout with 11:23 remaining. The hosts held on to their lead, but Colgate stayed right on their heels.
Twice, Syracuse was able to stretch the margin to a half dozen, but they could not shake the Raiders. The guests got five straight points to knot the score at 72 a side with just over a minute to play. Lampkin got a lay-in to nose the Orange out in front, then they got a defensive stop and Colgate fouled.
Jyare Davis missed the front end of a one-and-one. Once more, the Raiders missed a potential game-tying shot. Davis grabbed the board and was fouled, then missed the front end again. This time, Lucas Taylor grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled, only to also miss the front end.
Colgate secured the ball and moved upcourt, but they lost the ball out of bounds before they could get a shot to try to force overtime, giving SU the game.
Lampkin’s final basket capped off a big night for the big man, as he paced Syracuse with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists. Bell had 14 points, all in the second half, and J.J. Starling added a dozen before fouling out. Davis and Elijah Moore each added eight points, Davis also grabbing nine rebounds.
The Orange had gotten out to a quick start, jumping ahead with the night’s first seven points. The margin held for a few minutes, but Colgate eventually posted seven straight markers of their own to take their first lead of the game at 13-11 with just over six minutes elapsed, then nudged the margin to 16-12.
SU replied with a 14-3 burst as the reserves asserted themselves after a Lampkin bucket. Davis scored twice including a 3-pointer, while Moore hit a pair of pull-ups, one from mid-range and another from inside the arc. Petar Majstorovic tacked on a corner trey and the Orange held a 26-19 lead.
Lampkin pushed the lead to eight when Davis found him or a dunk, but the Raiders came back with a pair of 3’s to pull within 30-28 at the under-four media timeout, then tied it with a layup after the break. Jaquan Carlos and Taylor responded with triples to give Syracuse a 36-30 lead, but a Colgate triple halved that gap and sent the game to halftime at 36-33.
Colgate’s Jalen Cox was the top scorer in the game, as he piled up 21 points. Chandler Baker connected from long range four times as he added 15 points to the Raider effort. Brady Cummins and Parker Jones each chipped in with ten.
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