Syracuse collapses late in blowout loss at North Carolina State

The Orange losing streak grows to four straight as the Wolfpack put them away over the final dozen minutes

Jan 27, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; NC State Wolfpack guard Quadir Copeland (11) dunks the ball during the first half of the game against the Syracuse Orange at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

Former Syracuse player Quadir Copeland made it clear in the days before his North Carolina State hosted his former squad how badly he wanted to win and play well.  He more than lived up to his words, scoring 19 points, handing out nine assists, and grabbing four steals as his Wolfpack (15-6, 6-2) blew out the Orange (12-9, 3-5 ACC) late, 88-68.

N.C. State scored four seconds into the game and never looked back, shooting 50.8 percent from the field and claiming a 45-33 advantage on the boards.  That success on the interior also showed in them outscoring SU in the paint, 50-38.

The Syracuse offense worked in fits and starts, then gave out in the game’s final ten minutes and change.  The Orange closed the game by shooting just 5-of-18 from the floor, including streaks of four and six consecutive misses.  That poor marksmanship dragged their shooting in the game down to 38.8 percent overall, their worst effort since playing Iowa State the day before Thanksgiving. 

N.C. State was ready to play while it took a few minutes for the Orange to match them

The Wolfpack punched SU in the face, scoring off the opening tip and building a 10-2 lead in under three minutes.  Syracuse bounced back by scoring 11 of the game’s next 14 points to pull themselves back within 14-13.

After allowing the guests to get within a single point a second time, N.C. State ran off six quick points to secure some breathing room at 22-15 just before the midpoint of the half.  The margin between the two squads remained between five and eight points until a pair of Nate Kingz 3’s drew the Orange within four and a Donnie Freeman triple made it a three-point game in the last 2:30 of the half.

The Wolfpack quickly rebuilt an eight-point lead, but Freeman and William Kyle III each scored inside to bring SU within 41-37 at intermission.  Freeman added the first score of the second half, but North Carolina State responded by outscoring SU over the next five minutes, 12-5, for a 53-44 advantage.

The Orange made one last push, but Copeland had the last laugh

Syracuse responded by scoring seven of the game’s next nine points to slice the lead down to four, but Copeland scored five points to jumpstart a 9-2 N.C. State run to push the margin into double figures for the first time at 64-53.  That run capped a stretch where the ‘Pack made 10-of-14 shots from the field.

SU got back within seven, but Copeland took it upon himself to put the game away, handing out an assist and scoring four straight points, including an emphatic slam dunk, to give N.C. State their biggest lead to that point at 76-62 with just over four minutes to play.  The ‘Pack tacked on the next seven points to push the lead to 21 and coasted home from there.

Freeman had a dominant first half, piling up 16 points and seven rebounds in the first half on his way to game highs of 24 points and ten boards.  J.J. Starling scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half, but shot 5-of-13 after halftime and 7-of-19 overall.

Darrion Williams paced the Wolfpack with 23 points, including burying 5-of-9 3-pointers.  Ven-Allen Lubin had a perfect night shooting the ball, going 8-for-8 from the field and 2-of-2 at the line for 18 points to go with a team-leading nine rebounds.  Musa Sagnia chipped in with ten points.

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