Terrapins Take Down Syracuse In Gotham Classic

Saturday, December 21

Brooklyn, N.Y.

12:00 PM

Syracuse University

5-6,0-1ACC

Maryland

10-2,1-1Big Ten

Syracuse

Maryland

12/21/2024 2:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Highlights Adrian Autry Press Conference Photo Gallery

Freshmen Donnie Freeman and Elijah Moore combined for 31 points to lead Syracuse on Saturday against Maryland, but the Orange lost to the Terrapins in the Gotham Classic at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, 87-60.

How The Game Was Decided
Syracuse trimmed an early 15-point first-half deficit to 11 with just over four minutes remaining in the first half following baskets from Eddie Lampkin Jr. and Kyle Cuffe Jr. However, after the Terrapins called a timeout, they answered with a 17-2 flurry to end the period. Maryland made seven of its final 10 shot attempts during the run to build a 26-point lead at the intermission, 43-17.

Despite a better offensive showing in the second half, the Orange never drew closer than 24 points during the rest of the contest.

Freshmen Surge In Second Half
Freeman and Moore found their footing in the second half, combining to score 29 of Syracuse's 43 points in the frame.

All 15 of Freeman's points Saturday came in the second half. The freshman went 6-of-8 from the field in the final 20 minutes, which included a made triple. He also went 2-of-2 from the free throw line. The 15-point effort was his seventh outing this season with at least 10 points.

Moore led the Orange in scoring for the game with 16 points, 14 of which came after halftime. He went 7-of-11 from the field on the day, which included a 2-of-3 clip from beyond the arc. This was Moore's second straight game scoring in double figures and his fourth time with 10+ points in the last six contests.

Terp Takeaways
Stingy defense fueled Maryland in the first half. The Terrapins forced six Syracuse turnovers in the opening seven minutes, scoring seven points off those giveaways to establish a 12-6 advantage. Three more takeaways helped Maryland extend the lead to 11 points, 23-11, with just under eight minutes remaining. Another trio of Syracuse turnovers in the final 1:16 of the opening frame led to seven more Maryland points, capping off a 17-2 run to end the period. Of Maryland's 43 first-half points, 18 came off Syracuse turnovers.

Second-Half Offense
It took the Orange less than 10 minutes in the second half to exceed their scoring output from the opening frame. Freeman scored Syracuse's first six points before Lucas Taylor buried a triple. Cuffe Jr. followed that up with a 3-pointer of his own before converting on a layup two minutes later. After Freeman knocked down his first triple of the day, Cuffe Jr. added another to bring the Orange's second-half tally to 20 points in the first 9:15 of the period.

The offensive spark was not enough to impact the game's outcome, as Maryland answered the back-to-back Syracuse 3-pointers with 14 consecutive points to take a 38-point advantage, 75-37, its largest of the contest.

Notable Numbers

Joining Freeman and Moore in double figure scoring was Cuffe Jr., who matched his season high with 10 points off the bench.
Freeman, Lampkin Jr. and Jaquan Carlos paced the Orange with four assists each. Lampkin Jr. added nine points and a team-best 10 rebounds, nine of which came in the first half.
Freshman Petar Majstorovic dished out a season-best three assists and posted the first block of his college career.
Taylor and Moore led Syracuse with two steals apiece. Taylor also hit a pair of triples.
As a team, Syracuse went 8-of-16 on 3-pointers, matching its most makes from distance this season. The Orange also made eight triples against Colgate. The Terrapins shot 44-percent from deep (12-of-27) on the day.
In total, Maryland scored 25 points off 21 Syracuse turnovers. This was the first time Syracuse had 20 or more giveaways in a game since Feb. 11, 2016, when the Orange turned it over 20 times against Florida State.
Shelton Miguel scored a game-high 24 points for Maryland. He went 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. Ja'Kobi Gillespie (17), Julian Reese (11) and Derik Queen (11) also scored in double figures for the Terrapins.
With the victory, Maryland now holds a 6-4 advantage in the all-time series against Syracuse.
The Orange fell to 0-3 on the season at the Barclays Center with the defeat. Syracuse previously lost to both Texas and Texas at Barclays in the Legends Classic.

Up Next
The Orange play their final non-conference game of the regular season against Bucknell on Dec. 28 at the JMA Wireless Dome. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. and the contest will be televised on The CW.

Tickets
Syracuse men's basketball tickets are available online (cuse.com/tickets), by phone (1-888-DOMETIX) and at the Dome Box Office (Gate B).

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