Orange Edged By Notre Dame In First ACC Game

Saturday, December 7

South Bend, Ind.

12 PM

Syracuse University

4-4,0-1ACC

Notre Dame

5-5,1-0ACC

Syracuse

Notre Dame

12/7/2024 2:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Donnie Freeman and Jyare Davis both notched 20 points for Syracuse (4-4, 0-1 ACC) on Saturday in a 69-64 loss to Notre Dame (5-5, 1-0 ACC) at Purcell Pavilion.

Freeman and Davis combined to shoot 14-of 22 from the field, with Freeman adding 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. However, the Fighting Irish prevailed in a back-and-forth second half that featured eight lead changes after intermission. It was the first ACC contest for both teams.

How The Game Was Decided
Davis knotted the score, 60-60, after making a jump shot with 3:38 remaining in the second half. On the ensuing Fighting Irish possession, Braeden Shrewsberry knocked down a 3-pointer that gave Notre Dame a lead it would not relinquish. After Notre Dame added a free throw to go up four, Elijah Moore knocked down a long 2-point jumper, which Shrewsberry answered with another triple to push the Fighting Irish ahead, 67-62.

Moore responded with a layup on the other end, and after Shrewsberry missed an open layup for the Fighting Irish, Davis drew a foul and went to the line for a one-and-one but missed the front end. After a Notre Dame miss on the next possession, the Orange had another chance to tie or take the lead. However, Lucas Taylor could not convert on a tough jumper with 17 seconds on the clock, and Notre Dame's Kebba Njie grabbed the rebound and drew a foul. Njie then split a pair at the line to make it a two-score game. Davis missed a shot from beyond the arc with eight seconds remaining and the Irish grabbed the defensive board to seal the game.

Syracuse Takes Second-Half Leads
The Orange went 4-of-4 from the free throw line to start the second half to draw within two points of the Fighting Irish, 32-30. After Notre Dame's Matt Allocco split a pair at the line on the other end, Jaquan Carlos rolled in a layup to cut the lead to one. On the next Orange possession, Freeman converted on a layup to give Syracuse its first lead of the afternoon, 34-33.

Shrewsberry came back with consecutive triples to put the Irish back up by five, but the Orange answered with a 6-0 run of their own behind buckets from Chris Bell, Carlos and Davis to retake a one-point advantage, 40-39. The Fighting Irish again rallied to take the lead before a Davis jumper put Syracuse back in front, 47-45.

Syracuse took another lead, 56-54, when Freeman delivered a layup with just under seven minutes remaining. Just like the three previous times the Orange took a lead in the second half, Notre Dame answered on the next possession, knocking down two free throws to level the score.

Davis Sparks Orange In First Half
With the Orange trailing 14-9 in the first half, Davis scored seven straight points for Syracuse to level the score. The stretch began with Davis knocking down a pair of free throws, which he followed with a layup to bring the Orange back within one. After Notre Dame answered on the other end with a layup, Davis connected on a jumper while being fouled on the next Syracuse possession. He made the free throw to tie the game, 16-16.

The Fighting Irish went up by as many as seven in the closing minutes of the first half but the Orange were able to trim the Notre Dame lead going into intermission, 30-26.

Early Assists
Syracuse's first four baskets of the game all came off assists. Carlos found Eddie Lampkin Jr. for the Orange's opening bucket, and Lampkin Jr. returned the favor by hitting Carlos for Syracuse's second score of the game. Lampkin Jr. then found Freeman for back-to-back makes to cut into Notre Dame's early lead, 11-8.

Notable Numbers

Freeman, the Co-ACC Rookie of the Week, reached 20 points for the second time in his freshman campaign. His four double-doubles this season lead the Orange.
Davis' 20 points were the senior's most in a game this season since he scored 22 against Le Moyne in the season opener.
Carlos delivered season highs in both points (8) and assists (7). He also had a team-high two steals.
The Orange dished out 13 assists as a team.
Syracuse went 0-9 from beyond the arc. It was the first time the Orange did not make a triple in a game since Nov. 28, 2014, against Holy Cross.
Shrewsberry scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Fighting Irish. He knocked down six 3-pointers.

Up Next
The Orange return home for a two-game homestand at the JMA Wireless Dome next week. Syracuse will host Albany on Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. on ESPN2 before welcoming Georgetown for the 100^th all-time meeting between the former Big East rivals on Dec. 14 at 2:30 p.m. on ACC Network.

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).