Starling helps Syracuse men’s basketball outlast Boston College 79-71 in first road win of the season

In a battle that was tight throughout the majority of the game, Syracuse men’s basketball (8-8, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) outdueled Boston College (9-7,1-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) 79-71 to win its first game outside the Dome all year.

Heading into this contest, the Orange were 0-3 in true road games and 0-3 at neutral site games, which were all played at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. With the away struggles already defined for SU at this point in the season, the news that freshman Donnie Freeman would miss his second straight game with a lower leg injury did not sit so well with the ‘Cuse. Yet another obstacle for Adrian Autry’s side to handle. The forward had been leading Syracuse in scoring while guard JJ Starling was sidelined for seven games with his hand injury. Freeman and Starling have only played in seven games together this season, but when one’s out, the other usually takes the lead, and that was the case in SU’s win over BC.

After just six points in the first half, guard JJ Starling put SU on his back out of the break. The junior matched his first-half total of six points in the first six minutes of the second period. There was a moment where it looked as though the Orange were losing grasp of the game. The Eagles had opened up a seven-point lead at the halfway point of the second half, but three straight buckets from Starling kept the ‘Cuse in the contest. After the game, there was no doubt that head coach Adrian Autry knew the impact that his guard could have on the game.

“There you go, 2-1 [Since Starling returned]. I think other people got better, and I think JJ got better.”

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With much of the attention going to Starling, other SU players who have been inconsistent this season were able to get involved. Five Orange players reached double-digits. In the first half, it was guard Lucas Taylor who took advantage. The senior, who was starting his third straight game, got hot from the floor tallying 10 points with two three-pointers.

It looked as though Taylor might be a scorer all game, but those 10 first-half points were all the transfer could muster up. However, despite not scoring out of the halftime break, Taylor led Syracuse with 37 minutes played, which was also a personal season high. After the senior cooled down, it couldn’t just be Starling the rest of the way, and guard Kyle Cuffe Jr. made sure of that. Cuffe, who’s received more playing time as of late took on the “bench sparkplug” role. The junior scored 10 points, all of which came in the 2nd half.

It was two threes from Cuffe that headlined his performance, the first put SU in front 59-56 with just under five minutes to go, and the second was just a minute later to extend the Orange lead to 62-58.

Following the contest, Cuffe Jr. said, “Take the opportunities that you get and make the most of them.”

The guard has yet to start a game this year, but with double-digit points in three of his last four games, the junior has a solidified role on the team.

So a standout game from J.J. Starling complemented by a couple of other key performances led SU to victory formation, and in basketball, this can mean free throws. After starting the contest 0/5 from the charity stripe, confidence from the line wasn’t great for the Orange. But after the halftime period, something clicked in. The ‘Cuse hit 13 of its 14 free throws in the second half to help seal the victory down in Chestnut Hill, and get back to .500 on the year.

Next up for Syracuse is a battle with a hot Louisville team. The Cardinals have won six straight games powered by their offense, which is top five in the ACC. Gametime from the JMA Dome is slated for 7 P.M on Tuesday, we’ll have you covered with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to tipoff starting at 6:30 P.M.