Syracuse gets a big win in their last non-conference opportunity, edging #13 Tennessee

The fourth time was the charm. After failing to claim a big win in three opportunities at the Players Era Men’s Championship during Thanksgiving week, Syracuse finally got the signature win they were looking for, edging #13 Tennessee in the ACC-SEC Challenge at the JMA Wireless Dome, 62-60.

William Kyle III made one-of-two foul shots in the final 13 seconds to break a tie, then Sadiq White Jr. did the same after the Orange (5-3) got a defensive stop against the Volunteers (7-2). UT did get a pass the length of the court and a shot off, but Nate Ament’s prayer hit high off the glass and did not get close to the rim.

The close end exemplified a tight game

The close finish was a representative of most of the game, as only one SU run early in the second half gave either team a lead of more than four points. In fact, The Vols’ biggest lead of the night was a two-point advantage in the first half.

That tight first half was dominated by two players, Nate Kingz of Syracuse and Jaylen Carey of Tennessee. The only thing that slowed Nate Kingz down in the first half was the last possession. Kingz had 19 first half points in a span of 13 minutes, going 6-of-8 from the field before missing a couple 3-point shots in the final ten seconds of the half.

The broad-shouldered Carey was a load for the Orange bigs to try to slow down, as he had ten points and six rebounds in the first half. Tennessee made certain Kingz would not beat them, preventing him from getting a shot up in the second half, but Carey did not slow down, finishing with a career-high 22 points in the game.

Kingz’ 19 first half points was over half of the SU output as they took a 32-30 lead to halftime. Tyler Betsey gave them that margin when he put back a Kingz airball off a long 3-point try just before the buzzer.

The Orange took command early in the second half, but could not hold onto it

After the game resumed, the Volunteers tied the game twice before Syracuse ran off eight straight points to start a 10-1 run where all the points came at the rim. Kyle had a lay-up to start things, then J.J. Starling turned a steal into a breakaway slam. After a defensive stop, Naithan George tossed an alley-oop to White that made the Dome faithful explode.

The opening media timeout of the second half settled things down, but Starling fed Kyle for another slam, bringing the fans back into the game. Tennessee got a foul shot to stop the Orange streak, but White scored in close for the biggest SU lead of the game at 44-35 less than six minutes out of the break.

The Vols chipped away at the lead, but White and Kiyan Anthony each hit 3-pointers to match that nine-point lead at 50-41. Those were the last Syracuse points for over four minutes, though, as UT responded with their own run, putting together ten straight points for a one-point lead.

The back-and-forth game stayed that way until the final moments

The Orange nudged back out in front, but the Volunteers were not done, pushing their way back in front at 56-55 with over four minutes to play. Starling responded with a 3-pointer and a short jumper to push SU back in front.

Tennessee erased that four-point margin with a pair of baskets, setting up the final two points from the Syracuse foul line.

Kingz led four Orange players with 19 points. Starling had all but one of his dozen points in the second half. White just missed a double-double with ten points and nine boards while Kyle had seven rebounds and six blocks with his ten points.

Carey’s 22 points led all scorers and his nine rebounds paced the Volunteers. Ament struggled with his shot (2-of-10 from the field) and ball security (seven turnovers), but finished with 11 points. Ja’Kobi Gillespie was the only other UT player to reach double figures with ten points.

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