'Cuse Comes Up Short at #13 Virginia, 73-65

Sunday, January 24

Charlottesville, VA

7:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

13-8, 3-5ACC

Virginia

15-4, 4-3ACC

Syracuse

Virginia

1/24/2016 8:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Syracuse (13-8, 3-5) came up short on the road against No. 13 Virginia (15-4, 4-3) 73-65 on Sunday night at John Paul Jones Arena, despite impressive performances from grad student Michael Gbinije and freshman Malachi Richardson.

The tandem combined for 47 of the Orange's 65 points on the night, including 11 of the team's 13 3-point field goals. Richardson finished the evening with a new career-high 23 points and six 3-pointers while going 8-15 from the field.

Gbinije racked up 19 of his game-high 24 points in the second half, finishing 5-9 from the 3-point arc and 5-5 from the charity stripe.

Junior Tyler Roberson led the Orange on the boards, pulling down seven rebounds while adding six points on the evening.

The Orange and the Cavaliers traded baskets to kick off the ACC contest, before Virginia went on a quick 5-0 run at the 13:10 mark to create a 14-9 lead. Syracuse soon erased the deficit going on a 5-0 run of its own, topped with a 3-point bucket by Richardson to even the score at 14.

Trevor Cooney and Richardson hit three 3-point buckets in consecutive possessions to knot it up once again at 25 with just over five minutes left in the first half. The Cavaliers, however, proceeded on an 8-0 run to extend its lead 33-25 heading into the final three minutes of the half. Virginia got a shot off in the final seconds to create its largest lead of the half, 37-29.

Gbinije got things started for the Orange in the second half, knocking down two 3-pointers and cutting the Cavalier lead down to four at the 16:33 mark, 39-35. The guard continued to strike, sinking a pair of free throws and draining another three to bring Syracuse within five of Virginia, 45-40, while bringing the Orange all of its points in the first eight minutes of the second half.

Richardson nailed his fourth 3-pointer of the night at the 9:46 mark to bring the Orange within two, 47-45. A layup by Roberson evened it out at 47-all, erasing a 10-point Cavalier lead while outscoring the home team 12-2.

Virginia bounced back, answering with an 8-1 run to establish a seven-point lead, but the Orange didn't let up, as Richardson and Cooney sunk 3-point buckets to make it a one-possession game with 3:42 left in the game, 57-54.

The Cavaliers began to run away with a seven-point lead with just over a minute left to play after making its last six shots, 64-57. Gbinije and Richardson didn't stop, draining yet another pair of three's to make it another one-possession game with 29 seconds left in the contest.

Free throws, however, became the deciding factor in the contest, as the Cavaliers sunk five baskets from the charity stripe in the final seconds to secure a 73-65 victory for the home team.

Syracuse returns home to face Notre Dame for the first of four consecutive games in the Carrier Dome on Thursday, January 28 at 7 p.m.