Second half collapse sentences Syracuse to second straight loss, falling to Virginia Tech, 76-74

Syracuse led by ten points in the first half and seven at halftime, but their offense deserted them in the second half and Virginia Tech walked them down, then held on for a 76-74 victory at the JMA Wireless Dome. The Orange (12-7, 3-3 ACC) committed 20 fouls in the second half and the Hokies (15-5, 4-3) made them pay at the charity stripe by making 25-of-33 foul shots.

Virginia Tech’s work at the foul line offset their shooting struggles from long distance, as they went 4-of-17 (23.5 percent), while SU simply could not score in the second half until the Hokies were more concerned about running time off the clock. Syracuse made 6-of-7 from the field to close the game and lift their second half shooting mark to 41.9 percent from the floor. They made just 3-of-11 3-pointers after a 7-for-12 mark in the first half.

SU also turned the ball over nine times in the second half and the visitors converted them into 16 points.

Syracuse started off the game with their hottest 3-point shooting stretch of the season

The Orange made 3-point shooting the difference early, hitting 4-of-6 to start the game, including three during a 13-3 burst that reversed a 10-7 deficit into a 20-13 lead and forcing a Virginia Tech timeout. Sadiq White Jr. added another triple a minute after the pause in the action, stretching SU’s lead to ten.

The Hokies began coming back, chipping seven points off the margin to make it a 23-20 game shortly past the middle of the opening half. The Orange stretched the lead back out to eight less than four minutes later, then ten again when William Kyle III punched a one-handed slam for a 37-27 lead with three minutes left in the half. A Tech triple was the only scoring before the break, cutting the SU advantage to 37-30.

Virginia Tech twice drew within four points in the first couple minutes after the break, but Syracuse stretched the lead back out to seven on two separate occasions. The Hokies broke through, though, hanging eight unanswered points for a 46-45 lead.

Naithan George broke the dry spell by setting up White for an alley-oop that put the Orange back in front. After two Tech free throws, it was J.J. Starling’s turn to set up a White alley-oop. Three Hokie fouls shots later, White got a loose ball and emphatically threw it down with both hands to knot the game at 51 a side.

Virginia Tech took command of the game in the final seven minutes

After each side got two foul shots, Virginia Tech posted a half dozen straight points. George stopped the bleeding with a short jumper, but the Hokies added five more points to make it an 11-2 run and pushed their lead out to 64-55 with 2:40 remaining.

After Tech claimed a nine-point lead for a third time, Tyler Betsey hit a 3-pointer and was fouled on another attempt, triggering an 8-2 burst for SU that brought them back within 70-67. Each team added two points, then Syracuse forced a turnover and took over with 21.5 seconds remaining in a 72-69 game.

Kingz, however, left a 3-pointer short and the Orange were forced to foul. The second foul shot pushed the Hokie lead to four and Starling sliced through the defense for a lay-up that cut it to 73-71 with 7.5 seconds on the clock.

After another SU foul, Neoklis Avdalas made the first foul shot and missed the second, but Tobi Lawal yanked down the rebound for Virginia Tech and was fouled with 5.1 ticks left. Two Lawal free throws later, George hit a 3-pointer at the horn to no avail.

Starling paced a balanced scoring attack 12 points while Nate Kingz and White tallied 11 points apiece. Donnie Freeman and Kyle each added ten points while grabbing nine and eight rebounds, respectively. Tyler Betsey chipped in with nine points.

Ben Hammond led all scorers by pouring in 24 points for Virginia Tech. Lawal posted a double-double of 14 points and 11 boards. Amani Hansberry and Avdalas each had ten points while Christian Gurdak chipped in with eight points.

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