Orange Defeat Hokies To Finish Home Slate

Tuesday, February 27

Syracuse, N.Y.

7 PM

Syracuse University

19-10,10-8ACC

Virginia Tech

15-13,7-10ACC

Virginia Tech

Syracuse

2/27/2024 9:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Highlights Adrian Autry Press Conference Judah Mintz Interview JJ Starling Interview Photos Photo Gallery

Sophomore guard Judah Mintz recorded 29 points and led Syracuse (19-10, 10-8 ACC) past Virginia Tech (15-13, 7-10), 84-71, Tuesday night in the regular season home finale in the JMA Wireless Dome.

Syracuse improved to 19 wins on the season for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign, when the Orange finished with a 20-14 record.

Mintz paced four Orange players who scored in double-figures. The other players were sophomores: guard J.J. Starling (13 points), swingman Quadir Copeland (12) and center Maliq Brown (12). Syracuse has had four players score in double-digits in each of the last eight games.

WHEN THE GAME WAS DECIDED
The Orange took the lead 9:25 into the game and were in front for the rest contest. The Orange had a three-point advantage with 8:17 to go in the first half. Sophomore guard Kyle Cuffe Jr. drained a 3-pointer to begin a run of eight unanswered points for Syracuse. Copeland drove to the rim for one and Mintz converted a conventional three-point play during the stretch to give the Orange a double-digit lead, 29-18, with 6:52 left before the intermission.

The Hokies attempted to comeback from a 21-point second-half deficit, coming within eight of the Orange with 3:42 to go. Syracuse held Virginia Tech to just one field goal in the final three minutes of the contest and scored seven over the ending 3:04. Mintz, Brown and Starling each contributed baskets in the 7-2 run to end the game and secured the double-digit win for the Orange.

ORANGE TAKE OVER LATE IN FIRST HALF
The Orange shot .631 percent (19-of-31) from the field in the first half. Mintz led seven different Syracuse scorers in the first half with 16 points. He converted five-of-eight from the field and five-of-five from the foul line in the first 20 minutes. Mintz added three assists, two steals and two rebounds to his dominant first-half performance. Copeland chipped in as well with eight points, two assists and two rebounds in 10 minutes of first-half action.

Neither side led by more than four points in the first 10 minutes of the contest. There were four occasions of an even score and three lead changes in the opening 10 minutes. Ahead 31-22 with 5:52 to go in the first half, Syracuse went into the break on a 14-5 run. Mintz, Starling and Copeland each contributed four points while Taylor added two during the run. The Orange held the Hokies to just two field goals in the final five minutes of the first period and scoreless over the final 2:00. The squads went into the locker rooms with Syracuse in front, 45-27.

SYRACUSE HOLDS OFF TECH COMEBACK EFFORT
The second half started with a bang as Starling swiped the rock from Sean Pedulla and drained a 3-pointer, which gave the Orange a 21-point advantage - their largest lead of the game. Syracuse led by 19 points with 13:48 remaining before the Hokies put together a 10-2 run that cut their deficit to 11. Cattoor led the rally with two 3-pointers that brought the score to 63-52 in favor of the Orange with 11:38 to go. The lead for Syracuse stayed above 10 points until the 8:41 mark after baskets from Kidd and Cattoor cut Virginia Tech's deficit to nine, 67-58, with 8:41 remaining. Although the Hokies came within seven in the final eight minutes, the Orange held on and extended their lead to finish out the game.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

Mintz made his 100^th free throw in ACC contests this season. He is the first Syracuse player to have 100-or-more free throws in conference action since Hakim Warrick had 123 in the 2004-05 season.
Syracuse finished its home regular season schedule with a 14-2 record. The record marks the most home wins since the 2017-18 season, when the Orange finished 14-5 in the Dome.
The Orange made a perfect 12-of-12 from the charity stripe. The last time Syracuse went 1.000 from the foul line was Feb. 20, 2021, against Notre Dame (11-of-11).
Mintz went eight-of-eight from the line in the affair. He has converted 25-of-27 (.926) free throw attempts over the last four games.
The Orange went 34-of-60 (.567) from the field in the outing. Syracuse has had nine games this season shooting over .500 percent from the field.

UP NEXT
Syracuse concludes the 2023-24 regular season on the road, beginning with Louisville on Saturday March 2 in the KFC Yum! Center. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. and the game will be televised on ACC Network.

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

Gallery: (2-27-2024) Syracuse vs Virginia Tech