Syracuse 66, Florida State 62: Orange advance to ACC Tournament Second Round

Not quite the return of Syracuse in March, but the Orange survive and advance.

The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team survived in the ACC Tournament First Round, handling a late push by Florida State to win 66-62 in what was Leonard Hamilton’s final game as head coach of the Seminoles.

JJ Starling took over in the second half to lead Syracuse (14-18) to victory, finishing with 27 points and 5 rebounds. Eddie Lampkin scored 14 points and 9 rebounds while Jyare Davis added 14 points and 6 rebounds. Kyle Cuffe made two clutch free throws with 5.5 seconds left to put Syracuse up by three.

Jamir Watkins led the way for Florida State (17-15) with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Lucas Taylor and Cuffe, despite racking up fouls, did a mostly solid job defending Watkins. Daquan Davis and Jerry Deng each scored ten.

Syracuse went with its usual starting five in Jaquan Carlos, Starling, Taylor, Davis and Lampkin. Both teams got off to auspicious starts offensively. Carlos and Davis each knocked down their first three point attempts. Taylor picked up an early foul guarding Jamir Watkins. As such, Adrian Autry turned to Cuffe, going three guard with Cuffe guarding Watkins. Syracuse led 10-8 at the first media timeout and would hold the lead for the remainder of the game.

Lampkin established himself down low in the early going; he made his first three shots, two coming from high-low scenarios. Cuffe was whistled for a dramatic foul guarding Watkins near mid-court that was reviewed for a flagrant but ultimately deemed a regular foul. Syracuse led 17-10 at the second media timeout.

Petar Majstorovic and Chris Bell checked into the game along with Taylor. Naheem McLeod checked in shortly thereafter. Both offenses went cold during that stretch as Syracuse elected to play with a seldom used lineup.

After limited success with the bench lineup, Starling checked back in and Syracuse went 2-3 zone with McLeod manning the middle. The Orange held a 21-15 at the under eight minute media timeout with Florida State beginning to dig its heels in defensively, fueling a 7-0 run to make it 21-19. Lampkin stopped the run with a tip-in, but Jerry Dang buried a transition three to make it 23-22.

Lampkin carried through the last stretch of the first half; he led all scorers with a dozen at the break. Syracuse went into the half holding a 30-26 lead with a 22-17 edge on the glass. Florida State’s bench outscored the Orange 11-0.

Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images

Starling and Davis struck first out of the break to extend the lead 34-26. Florida State’s Taylor Bol Bowen was fouled and made both free throws, but Davis answered with a put-back plus a foul. Hamilton called an early second half timeout.

After a limited first half, Starling started to get going offensively, scoring in succession on a mid-range jumpshot and layup. Taylor picked up an unnecessary foul guarding Watkins picking up full-court. He’d then pick up his third on the ensuing possession after getting caught out of position with Watkins underneath the rim. Cuffe came in for Taylor at the 16:13 mark. Watkins made both for his eighth and ninth point to trim the deficit to six.

From there, Carlos had a layup that was blocked but ruled for basket interference, giving Syracuse a 42-34 lead. Then, Cuffe was whistled for two quick fouls. His third was called as Watkins swept the ball through Cuffe’s outstretched hands, a common NBA move. Cuffe’s fourth, however, looked as if he were in position for a charge as Watkins pushed off with his forearm. It was called a block and Cuffe returned to the bench.

Davis was effective through that stretch as part of an 8-0 Syracuse run. Another offensive rebound and put-back lifted Syracuse 46-24. Carlos then sold a shove from the Seminoles’ Davis and it was ruled an offensive foul — perhaps a makeup call. Autry inserted McLeod into the game, who threw down a dunk on a lob from Carlos as Syracuse jumped out to its largest lead of the game at 16.

Florida State would respond, however, as turnovers came back to bite the Orange. Florida State went on a 10-0 run to cut into the lead 50-44 by the under eight minute media timeout. Starling snapped the run with a reverse layup and transition bucket to boost the Syracuse lead back to ten. Florida State would cut it to five at the final media timeout.

Down the stretch it was Starling who continued to score timely buckets. He’d scored inside to make it 58-51 SU. Justin Thomas answered at 58-53 and Taylor picked up his fourth foul at the 2:01 mark. Watkins split a pair to trim Syracuse’s lead to four. But then Starling scored on a left-handed floater followed by a lefty lay to make it 62-56. On the next play, Taylor would foul out with 48.9 seconds left on a Watkins three point attempt. Watkins promptly made all three to make it a one possession game.

Syracuse had a chance to ice the game up three late, but an untimely turnover led to a Malique Ewin put-back layup to make it a one point game with 9.4 seconds left. The ball was inbounded to Cuffe, who was fouled with 5.5 seconds left. He stepped to the line and calmly made a pair to put Syracuse up 64-61.

Up three with 2.6 seconds remaining, Carlos fouled Florida State’s Davis. The first free throw was made and second missed intentionally. Syracuse’s Davis secured the rebound, sealing the game with two made free throws to advance to the next round.

Final Stats

Syracuse shot 26-59 from the floor (44%), 2-14 from three (14%) and 12-22 from the free throw line (55%). Florida State shot 21-52 from the floor (40%), 2-10 from three (20%) and 18-27 from the free throw line (67%).

Syracuse led the rebounding battle 42-32 and had a points in the paint edge of 44-32. Florida State’s bench outscored Syracuse’s 26-4. Syracuse led for 38:05 out of a possible 40:00.

Next up

Syracuse advances to the ACC Tournament Second Round against the No. 6 seed SMU. That game tips at 9:30 pm and airs on ESPNU.