Hokies Halt Orange Comeback

Tuesday, January 7

Syracuse, N.Y.

9 PM

Syracuse University

8-7,1-3ACC

Virginia Tech

11-4,2-2ACC

Virginia Tech

Syracuse

1/7/2020 11:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A strong second half from Virginia Tech (11-4, 2-2 ACC) helped them grind out a 67-63 victory against Syracuse (8-7, 1-3 ACC) Tuesday night in the Carrier Dome.

Elijah Hughes once again led the Orange with 18 points, while Bourama Sidibe and Quincy Guerrier each had a game-high nine rebounds.

ORANGE COMEBACK COMES UP SHORT
With the visitors ahead by three points and 1:41 remaining in the game, Hokie freshman guard Jalen Cone buried his fifth 3-ball of the night to put his team on top, 60-54. The teams each hit a pair of free throws before Hughes knocked down a shot from downtown to bring the Orange back within three with 1:19 on the clock.

Landers Nolley II hit a long 2-point field goal to put Virginia Tech on top 64-59 with 47 seconds to play before Guerrier made a layup and earned a trip to the free throw stripe. Guerrier missed the free throw and the Hokies held on to the four-point victory.

POINTS RARE IN THE FIRST
The Orange claimed an early 12-7 advantage at the 12:36 mark of the first half after each team only scored two points in the opening four minutes. Three-pointers from Joseph Girard III and Buddy Boeheim propelled 'Cuse to the early lead. The Orange starting five all scored and Sidibe was active on the glass early, grabbing three boards in that span.

Syracuse outscored the Hokies 21-16 to close a non-offensive first half with a 33-27 lead.

The Orange went to the locker room shooting 52.2 percent and were 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Girard paced the offense with 10 points, while Sidibe and Marek Dolezaj snagged five and four rebounds, respectively. 'Cuse held a slight advantage in rebounds, 15-13, in the first half.

Almost a carbon copy of the first minutes of the game, the Orange outscored Virginia Tech, 3-2, in the first 4:47 of the second half.

HERE COME THE HOKIES
Trailing by nine, Hokie freshman Jalen Cone finished a four-point play, cutting the Syracuse lead to five. Another 3-pointer from Cone made the score 42-40 in favor of the Orange and a dunk from redshirt freshman Landers Nolley II tied the contest with 10:22 to play.

Two minutes and six seconds after his first four-point play, Cone converted another four-point play to give his team the lead for the first time since leading 7-4 in the opening half. A jumper, another 3-ball and a free throw from Virginia Tech capped a 10-0 run, giving them a 52-44 cushion with 7:46 remaining.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

Four Orange players scored in double figures (Hughes - 18, Girard - 12, Guerrier - 12, Boeheim - 10).
Syracuse held the slight edge in rebounds, 34-33.
Virginia Tech shot 10-for-36 from 3-point range, while the Orange were 6-for-17.
The Hokies finished with a 20-6 advantage in assists.
Virginia Tech got 27 points off the bench, compared to 12 for 'Cuse.
Hughes ended in double-figures for his 16^th consecutive game.
The Hokies turned the ball over 11 times, compared to nine miscues for the Orange.
Dolezaj's 2-point floater 4:28 into the contest gave the junior his 500^th career Syracuse point.

UP NEXT
The Orange travel to Charlottesville for a rematch of the season-opener against Virginia Saturday, Jan. 11. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.

Syracuse returns to the Dome next Wednesday, Jan. 15, for a 6:30 p.m. contest versus Boston College. That matchup can be viewed on ACC Network.

Tickets for all regular-season home games are on sale now online (Cuse.com/tickets), by phone (888-DOME-TIX) and at the Dome Box Office located in the Ensley Athletic Center.

For complete coverage of Syracuse men's basketball, follow us on Twitter (@Cuse_MBB), Instagram (cuse_mbb) and like us on Facebook (SyracuseOrange).