Syracuse snaps losing skid behind offensive explosions of Kingz, Starling

Syracuse used a burst of 11 straight points midway through the first half to grab a lead they would never relinquish en route to an 86-72 victory over Notre Dame at the JMA Wireless Dome. The victory snapped a four-game slide for the Orange (13-9, 3-5 ACC) while sending the Fighting Irish (11-10, 2-6) to their seventh loss in their last eight games.

With Donnie Freeman not starting the game, SU’s starting wings picked up the slack. J.J. Starling had 17 points in the first half and Nate Kingz poured in 22 in the second session, powering a 57.1 percent shooting effort from the field. Kingz buried five 3-pointers and Starling three as the team hit 10-of-25 (40.0 percent) from long range.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame got strong efforts from three of their top four players, but the Orange defense held the rest of their roster in check. Jalen Haralson, Braeden Shrewsberry, and Carson Towt had 51 points on 19-of-29 shooting (65.5 percent), but the rest of the Irish shot just 7-of-24 (29.2 percent).

The Orange offense asserted itself midway through the first half

The two teams stayed within four points of each other for the opening eight minutes, but Syracuse posted the first barrage of the night when Nate Kingz drilled his second 3-pointer of the opening minutes, followed by J.J. Starling connected from long range for the second and third times. Starling’s last trey gave the Orange a 21-12 lead before the midpoint of the first half.

Kiyan Anthony made a pair of foul shots shortly after, stretching the lead into double figures, then a Tyler Betsey made a triple to extend SU’s lead to 28-16. With just over five minutes left in the opening session, Betsey swished a turnaround just inside the right elbow to stretch the margin to 32-19.

Notre Dame gradually drew within seven, but Starling’s 16th and 17th points of the opening half gave Syracuse a 40-31 halftime lead. The Orange pressed the lead out to a dozen in the opening minute of the second half, but the Irish twice trimmed the lead to eight points.

Notre Dame hurt themselves just when the game seemed to be turning their way

The second time, however, resulted in a technical foul on Cole Certa, who complained to the officials about not getting a foul after a made 3-pointer. Donnie Freeman made both shots for the technical, then Kingz splashed a corner 3 in front of the SU bench that pushed the lead out to 57-44 and drew an ND timeout with 12:45 on the clock. Betsey drained another 3-pointer less than 30 seconds later to build a 14-point lead.

Notre Dame whittled away at the lead, eventually drawing within six, but Kingz answered that push by hitting his fifth 3-pointer of the night just as the shot clock expired to make it a 69-60 game. That trey started a streak of nine straight Syracuse points in under two minutes for a 75-60 advantage with under five minutes remaining.

That margin provided enough room for the Orange to reach the finish line without truly being threatened and Kingz punctuated his big second half by finishing an alley-oop while being fouled for a three-point-play.

Kingz closed the night with a season-best 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting, adding three steals on the defensive end. Starling added 21 points while William Kyle III was the only other SU player in double figures with ten points. Naithan George handed out ten assists in the game, his third time reaching double digits in dimes this season.

Haralson was relentless attacking the rim, piling up 26 points for the Irish on 8-of-12 shooting, including 19 points after halftime. Braeden Shrewsberry had 17 points while Towt had eight points and lead Notre Dame with eight rebounds.

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