Syracuse men’s basketball pulls off 3 OT thriller against Boston College

Syracuse men’s basketball (11-3, 5-8 Atlantic Coast Conference) didn’t cruise to a 95-86 win over Boston College (10-13, 2-10 ACC). But there is a very good argument to be made that the Orange should have gotten the win well before triple overtime.

The battle with Boston College marked the first time Syracuse played in a game that went at least three overtime periods since 2009. SU beat UCONN in the Big East Tournament Quarterfinals 127-117 in the “6-overtime game”. WAER alum Sean McDonough was on the call for that game on ESPN at Madison Square Garden in one of the most historic Syracuse basketball games of all time.

This was not the first time SU played in overtime this season. In the third game of the campaign against Youngstown State, guard JJ Starling’s 38 points propelled the Orange to a 2-OT win.

Even though the Eagles are the worst power conference basketball team according to the analytical site ken pom, they competed to only be down seven at halftime. But Starling was not much of a factor in the first 20 minutes. He only scored four points and watched his freshman teammate Elijah Moore boost the ‘Cuse with three makes from deep early.

“Having the mindset that I’m the one of the best guards in the country,” Starling on how he overcomes struggles on the court.

But in the second half JJ stepped it up with 14 points, although his team surrendered all seven points they gained in the first half. After getting hot early, Moore didn’t make a shot and only saw six minutes of action.

“Like most freshmen, keep getting better, keep being more consistent on both sides of the ball,” Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry on why Moore didn’t get more playing time in the second half.

The Orange had plenty of opportunities to put the game out of reach up five points with 45 seconds left. Starling and center Eddie Lamkin Jr. missed three free-throws in the final minute. SU shot 18-32 from the line against BC, which has been a problem all season. The Orange are 68% from the charity stripe, that’s the 284th worst in the country, below teams such as Central Arkansas and South Alabama.

The missed free-throws allowed Boston College Fred Payne to get up a shot to force overtime.

Unfortunately for SU, the struggles at the line continued into overtime. In the first extra period, Starling missed what would have been the go-ahead free-throw with 30 seconds left. In the second OT, JJ missed the winning free-throw with two seconds on the clock.

cuse.com

Syracuse guard JJ Starling (2, White) directs the offense as part of his 28-point performance against Boston College.

When third overtime hit, four different SU players scored and didn’t allow BC the chance to make it close.

“I thought Jyáre and Eddie Carried us to the end,” coach Autry on the pair’s nine points in overtime.

Even though it was not the prettiest, Syracuse needed the win to solidify its spot in the ACC tournament. Due to the three new teams in the conference (Cal, Stanford, SMU), the bottom three in the standings don’t make the tourney. The Orange flirted with being left out but are now 5-8 in ACC play. BC, NC State and Miami are the teams slated to miss out, with the former two squads having a 2-10 record in the ACC.

Syracuse has a quick turn around because it travels to Miami on Tuesday. WAER’s coverage starts with countdown to tip-off at 6:30 p.m followed by gametime at 7:00.