Orange chase most of the day, can never take the lead in loss at #18 Virginia

Syracuse fell behind five minutes into the game and tied things up twice, but could never take the lead in a 72-59 loss at #18 Virginia. The Orange (13-11, 4-7 ACC) gave up a 12-0 run to fall behind and knotted the score twice before intermission, but the Cavaliers (20-3, 9-2) scored eight straight points around the break that restored order.

SU got within one possession just once after that point, fighting back from one Virginia run, but not the second one where the hosts pulled away to seal the game. The Cavaliers’ second half rebounding was a big reason Syracuse could not get over the hump, as they finished +11 on the glass after halftime, including chasing down a dozen offensive boards and owning an 11-2 lead in second chance points in the second half.

The Orange were overly reliant on the mid-range and made an inordinate number of those shots, finishing the game 14-of-23 on 2-point shots not classified as either dunks or layups. That was the result of an offensive attack that could find little consistent opportunity other than drives that made it most of the way to the hoop or a little farther.

Syracuse got out of the box quickly, but it was just one good stretch of an inconsistent effort

SU scored on three straight possessions for an early 8-4 lead, but the Cavaliers struck back with a dozen straight points to double up Syracuse at 16-8 lead seven-and-a-half minutes into the game. Naithan George tallied the next four points to halve the margin, but Virginia responded with a 9-2 run to push the lead into double figures at 25-14.

That stretch turned into a 24-8 run for the hosts that took just eight minutes to get the Orange into a 12-point hole. SU erased that margin, tying the game at 33 a side, including capping that comeback with a 13-2 run to after George finished a three-point-play with 3:20 left in the half.

The Cavaliers had the better of play the rest of the half and took a 38-35 lead to halftime, then added the first five points of the second half to build an eight-point lead. Syracuse responded with seven of next nine points to pull within 45-42 just over four minutes into the second half.

Virginia had two more runs in them, while SU had just one

Once again, Virginia gradually extended their lead, pushing it out to 59-48 with under nine minutes remaining. The Orange gradually chipped away at the gap, using a 9-2 run to draw within 61-57 with 5:10 on the clock.

The Cavaliers took over from there.

The Virginia defense stifled the SU offense, letting them shoot just 1-of-8 in the closing minutes along with a turnover. On the other end, the Cavaliers made 5-of-7 shots to put away the game on an 11-2 run.

George paced all scorers in the game with a highly efficient 19 points, shooting 8-of-9 from the field. Nate Kingz had 11 of his 13 points in the second half after J.J. Starling had ten of his 13 in the opening half. No other SU player scored more than five points in the game.

Virginia was led by Sam Lewis, who connected form long range four times for the bulk of his 16 points. Ugonna Onyenso added ten points and a team-leading eight rebounds. Thjis De Ridder had nine points while Malik Thomas and Jacari White each chipped in with eight.

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