Orange Fall At #3 Tennessee

Tuesday, December 3

Knoxville, TN

7:30 PM

Syracuse University

4-3,0-0ACC

Tennessee

8-0,0-0SEC

Syracuse

Tennessee

12/3/2024 9:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Freshman Elijah Moore scored a career-high 24 points for Syracuse (4-3) in its first true road game of the season Tuesday night, but it was not enough to take down No. 3 Tennessee (8-0), who defeated the Orange, 96-70, at Thompson-Boling Arena as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge.

How The Game Was Decided
Tennessee built a double-digit point lead in the final six minutes of the first half and did not see its margin dip below double figures the rest of the night. After a Chris Bell 3-pointer with 6:09 remaining trimmed Tennessee's advantage to four, Chaz Lanier and Igor Milicic Jr. both made a pair of free throws to take the lead back to eight. Zakai Zeigler followed that up with a triple to push Tennessee ahead, 39-28.

The Volunteers carried their momentum into the second half, extending a 10-point halftime lead to 22 in the first seven minutes after intermission. The Orange got no closer than 19 over the final 13 minutes of the contest.

Moore Sparks Syracuse Early
Moore came off the bench to ignite Syracuse's offense in the first half. After subbing in for the first time at the 15:22 mark, the freshman connected on each of his first three shots, which included a triple that cut Tennessee's advantage to two, 20-18.

Moore finished the first half with a team-high 12 points and made 5-of-6 attempts from the field. He also had three rebounds, a steal and an assist in the opening frame.

Syracuse Answers First-Half Runs
After Eddie Lampkin Jr. delivered the game's opening basket, the Volunteers scored eight straight off three Orange turnovers to go up six. However, Syracuse settled in and got back within one, 12-11, following a Moore jumper.

The Orange were within two approaching the halfway point of the opening frame before Tennessee launched a 10-0 run. Lanier started the stretch with a jumper before Cade Phillips scored consecutive baskets. Then, a successful four-point play by Zeigler gave Tennessee its first double-digit lead of the night, 30-18, with 8:53 on the clock.

Syracuse again answered Tennessee's flurry and chipped away at its 12-point deficit. Jaquan Carlos knocked down a 3-pointer to get the Orange back within single digits, and after two makes at the line by Milicic Jr., Moore and Donnie Freeman both made baskets to cut Tennessee's lead to seven, 32-25.

Vols Pull Away Late
Tennessee stretched its legs in the second half to cement its first 8-0 start since 2001. A triple by Jordan Gainey with 13:15 on the clock gave the Volunteers their first 20-point lead of the night, 65-43. Tennessee later extended the lead to as many as 32 points.

Lanier scored 15 second-half points with Gainey adding 12 of his own. The Volunteers shot over 60-percent from the field in the second half and went 8-of-14 from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes.

Notable Numbers

Coming off his 19-point outing against Cornell last week, Moore set a new career high with his 24 points against the Volunteers. The freshman went 8-of-12 from the field and converted on a team-best three triples.
Freeman, who earned Co-ACC Rookie of the Week honors Monday, scored in double figures for the second straight game and fourth time this season with 10 points. He went 4-of-5 on free throws.
Bell hit a pair of triples on his way to a 12-point night. The junior forward also tied Jyare Davis for the team lead in rebounds with five.
Jaquan Carlos scored a season-best seven points and led the Orange with four assists.
Syracuse tallied six steals as a team, just one short of its season high of seven, which came against Le Moyne. Bell had a career-high three to pace the Orange.
Davis scored nine points on a 3-of-4 night from the field. He played 19 minutes off the bench for Syracuse.
As a team, the Orange shot 49-percent (26-of-53) from the field.
The Volunteers pulled down 13 offensive rebounds compared to Syracuse's five.
Five Tennessee players scored in double figures - Lanier (26), Zeigler (14), Gainey (12), Phillips (12) and Milicic Jr. (11).

Up Next
Syracuse plays its first ACC game on Dec. 7 against Notre Dame in South Bend. The contest at Purcell Pavilion will begin at noon and air 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).