Syracuse Topped by Miami at Home

Saturday, January 24

Syracuse, NY

2:00 PM

Syracuse University

12-8,3-4ACC

Miami

16-4,5-2ACC

Miami (FL)

Syracuse

1/24/2026 4:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Adrian Autry Press Conference Highlights

Syracuse (12-8, 3-4 ACC) could not overcome Miami's (16-4, 5-2 ACC) hot shooting and rebound advantage and the Orange fell to the Hurricanes, 85-76, at the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday.

The Hurricanes, the top-shooting team in the ACC, converted 33-of-54 (.611) from the field and outrebounded Syracuse, 37-21. Miami had a 13-4 advantage in second-chance points.

The Orange saw five players score in double figures in the loss. Sophomore Donnie Freeman (14 points) and freshman Kiyan Anthony (13 points) led Syracuse.

Three players scored 16 points or more for the Hurricanes, with Malik Reneau scoring a team-high 20 points while grabbing 11 boards for a double-double. Shelton Henderson and Tre Donaldson each chipped in 16 points for the Hurricanes.

How the Game Was Decided
The Hurricanes led 62-56 at the 11:07 mark before rattling off a quick 7-0 run in just over one minute to open their largest lead of the game. Henderson scored four points during the stretch with two free throws and a layup before Donaldson punctuated the surge with a 3-pointer, putting Miami up 69-56.

Syracuse snapped the scoring drought when Anthony finished off a fastbreak layup and Kingz hit a jumper on the following possession. The Hurricanes swung the momentum back in their favor shortly after, as Ernest Udeh Jr. completed a layup and drew a foul to open the lead back to double digits at 71-60 with 7:45 to go.

The Orange did not come within closer than seven points for the remainder of the game.

Hurricanes Take Early Lead
After missing their first two shots, the Hurricanes went on to hit seven of their next eight attempts from the floor in the early stages of the contest.

Miami stormed out to a 9-0 lead in the opening three-and-a-half minutes, knocking down four consecutive shots from the field. The Hurricanes forced two turnovers to keep the Orange off the board.

Senior Nate Kingz hit a jumper to open the scoring for the Orange before junior Naithan George drilled 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to trim the Miami lead to 11-8 near the 15-minute mark.

Miami answered at the free throw line, though, shooting 5-of-6 (.833) from the charity stripe while adding a couple of jumpers over a two-minute stretch to push the lead back to 20-10 with 11:45 remaining in the half.

Kiyan Anthony Leads Syracuse Back
Syracuse found itself in a 25-18 hole with 7:33 to go before halftime. Freshman Kiyan Anthony sparked a response, igniting a 9-2 surge that knotted things up at 27-27.

Anthony got it started with a jumper, then senior William Kyle III answered with a bucket down low. Anthony followed with a 3-pointer before putting an exclamation point on the stretch, throwing down a fast-break two-handed slam to tie the game. Anthony poured in seven points during the run.

The Hurricanes reestablished their lead, closing the half on a 14-9 scoring stretch to take a 41-36 advantage into the break. George paced the offense for Syracuse with nine points in the first half. Syracuse's defense forced nine turnovers in the opening 20 minutes, scoring 11 points off the Miami miscues.

Offensive Start to the Second Half
Both teams came out of the locker room hot, with the two shooting a combined 8-of-13 (.615) over the first four minutes, as Miami maintained its lead at 50-46.

The Orange got the half rolling with George finding Freeman for a high-flying alley-oop slam. Kingz, Starling and George chipped in layups too, as the Orange scored eight of their first 10 points in the paint.

Each time the Orange drew close, the Hurricanes had an answer. Syracuse pulled within two points at 50-48 before Miami went on a 7-2 run to go back up 57-50. Minutes later, Anthony hit another 3-pointer to narrow the margin to four at 59-55, but Miami's Timotej Malovec swished a 3-pointer of his own to keep Syracuse at arm's length.

Hurricanes Hold off the Orange
After falling behind 69-56, the Syracuse offense did its best to close the gap. Over the final nine minutes, the Orange shot 9-of-15 (.600) from the floor, but the Hurricanes answered, going 7-of-11 (.635) over that same stretch. A Kingz triple cut the deficit to seven at 83-76 with 1:44 remaining, but a dunk from Udeh Jr. finished the scoring at 85-76.

Notable Numbers

George has hit multiple 3-pointers in three of his last four appearances.
Seven different Syracuse players scored in the first half.
Anthony's 13 points are the most in his career during an ACC game.
The Orange had just six turnovers, the fewest in an ACC contest this season.
Five players finished in double figures for Syracuse: Anthony (13), Freeman (14), George (13), Kingz (11) and Kyle III (10).
Syracuse recorded 11 steals, matching its previous season high.
The Orange forced 16 turnovers and owned a 17-4 advantage over the Hurricanes in points off miscues.
Miami's .611 shooting percentage was the highest of any Syracuse opponent this year.

Up Next
The Orange are back on the road next week when they head to Raleigh, North Carolina to take on NC State on Tuesday, January 27. The matchup with the Wolfpack is set for a 7:00 p.m. tip off and will air on ESPNU.

Syracuse Tickets
Season and individual tickets are available at cuse.com/feature/basketball-tickets

For complete coverage of Syracuse men's basketball, follow the team on X (@Cuse_MBB) and Instagram (cuse_mbb).