After losing six of its last seven games, Syracuse men’s basketball (14-11, 5-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) desperately needed to turn its fortunes around. But nobody expected that to come in a game that consisted of two city-wide power outages affecting the JMA Wireless Dome lights and scoreboard due to a blizzard and a triple-overtime game to be that change towards winning ways. Regardless of the conditions inside the arena and the 10 minutes of extra time, SU pulled out a 107-100 win over California (17-8, 5-7 ACC). The Orange scored the most points in a conference game since joining the ACC back in 2013.
It took 50 minutes of basketball, but @Cuse_MBB took down @CalMBBall 107-100 in double overtime.@Nico_Horning and @Drew_Albaugh had the call from the JMA Wireless Dome. pic.twitter.com/LZBNbLeys8
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) February 12, 2026
The game turned into an offensive showdown for Syracuse’s starters. All five scored double digits in the victory, with two seniors shining through and leading the way. Forward William Kyle III finished with a double-double, dropping 15 points along with 16 rebounds. Guard Nate Kingz was SU’s leading scorer going 8-14 from the field and finishing with 27 points. The Oregon native practically ended the game, nailing a left corner three-pointer with just under two minutes remaining in the second overtime. The triple gave the Orange a two-possession lead over the Golden Bears.
KINGZ FOR THREEEEE
— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) February 12, 2026
He puts the Orange up by 5 pic.twitter.com/F6gSjaJMaX
“Really proud of how these guys just kept going,” SU head coach Adrian Autry said after the win. “We could’ve folded, and they didn’t…I just thought both teams showed a lot of character and a lot of fight.”
There is one dramatically underwhelming offensive blemish in Syracuse’s stats and that was from downtown. SU shot just 24%, cashing in on just six three pointers in all 50 minutes.
“We’ve had a lot of close losses, pretty much every game.” Coach Autry mentioned after the win. “This is a resilient team…through our losses and shortcomings, the one thing you can’t question is this team fights.”
Another successful spot for SU was inside the painted area. The Orange cashed in on 62 points within the paint, 16 more than the Golden Bears. Those paint points came from Syracuse’s 54% effectiveness from the field, one of its highest shooting percentages all season.
“California is down a couple big guys,” Coach Autry said about the reasoning behind SU attacking down low. “I thought getting the ball to the paint could work for us.”
After this nail-biter of a finish inside the dome, it will be hard for Syracuse to exceed expectations heading into the rest of its season. Next up, SU hosts SMU inside the dome on Saturday at 2 p.m. Our coverage on WAER begins with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Tipoff at 1:30.
