Orange Stage 17-Point Comeback To Beat Notre Dame

Saturday, January 18

Syracuse, N.Y.

4 PM

Syracuse University

9-9,3-4ACC

Notre Dame

8-10,2-5ACC

Notre Dame

Syracuse

Orange Stage 17-Point Comeback To Beat Notre Dame

1/18/2025 6:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Sparked by 21 points from J.J. Starling and a fourth consecutive double-double for Eddie Lampkin Jr., Syracuse (9-9, 3-4 ACC) completed its largest comeback of the season Saturday against Notre Dame (8-10, 2-5 ACC) at the JMA Wireless Dome, rallying from 17 points down to defeat the Fighting Irish, 77-69.

How The Game Was Decided
Starling took over the contest late to help polish off Syracuse's comeback bid. The junior guard made three straight free throws to level the score at 63 with 5:06 left in the second half and again evened the encounter at 65 after a made layup on the next possession.

Lampkin Jr. gave Syracuse its first lead of the day on then next Orange possession, grabbing his own miss and converting a layup to make the score 67-65. Starling then hit a driving layup to extend the lead to four points with just under three minutes remaining. Notre Dame got back within one point in the closing seconds, but the Orange engineered a stop and secured a defensive rebound on Notre Dame's final possession to seal the win.

Orange Stay Hot In Second Half
After closing the first half on a 9-2 run, the Orange used another 9-2 stretch in the opening minutes of the second half to get back within two. Jyare Davis started the second-half scoring for Syracuse with a jumper before Elijah Moore converted a transition layup. Starling then made a 3-pointer from the top of the key to cut Notre Dame's lead to two. Following a Notre Dame basket, Lampkin Jr. scored again to make it a two-point game, 44-42.

The Fighting Irish rebuilt their advantage to seven with 7:42 remaining in the contest before Syracuse scored the next six points courtesy of a pair of Lampkin Jr. baskets and a Starling layup. Notre Dame responded with a basket, but Starling came right back with a triple on the next Syracuse trip to again pull the Orange within two points, 62-60.

Syracuse Seizes Late First-Half Momentum
A late spark by the Orange shrunk Notre Dame's advantage to 42-33 at halftime. Down 40-24 with less than three minutes left in the frame, Kyle Cuffe Jr. hit a 3-pointer to trim the deficit to 13, which Moore backed up on the following possession with a 4-point play that brought Syracuse within single digits for the first time since the score was 14-6.

The late 3-pointers were Syracuse's fifth and sixth of the half, respectively, with 18 of the Orange's 33 first-half points coming from beyond-the-arc.

Irish Strike Quickly
Notre Dame opened the game on an 11-0 run after making five of its first six attempts from the field. Markus Burton scored four points during Irish's opening scoring stretch, with Braeden Shrewsberry adding three of his own. Davis ended the run by connecting on a 3-pointer with 15:52 remaining in the first half.

Burton stayed hot in the ensuing minutes, knocking down a pair of triples to push Notre Dame ahead, 20-6. Another Burton layup and a 3-pointer by Matt Allocco forced an Orange timeout with the Irish up, 25-8.

Burton finished the first half with 22 points, the last two of which came on a jumper with 4:55 remaining to give the Irish a 38-21 advantage, tied for their largest of the period.

Notable Numbers

All nine Orange players that saw action Saturday scored. Syracuse's bench outscored Notre Dame's 24-0, with 13 of those points coming from Cuffe Jr.
Of Starling's 21 points, 16 came after intermission. It was his third time surpassing 20 points in his five appearances since returning from injury.
Lampkin Jr. finished with 13 points and 11 boards for his fourth straight double-double and seventh of the campaign. He also notched team highs with four assists, three steals and two blocks.
Syracuse shot just 62-percent from the free throw line (21-of-34) on the day, but Cuffe Jr. was a bright spot at the stripe for the Orange, going 10-for-10 in the second half. The Orange shot 28 of their 34 free throws in the second half.
Moore snapped a six-game scoring drought with eight points in 17 minutes of action.
The Orange limited Notre Dame to just a 32-percent (8-of-25) clip from the field in the second half after the Fighting Irish shot 50-percent (16-of-32) in the first.
The 17-point comeback victory was the largest of the season for Syracuse, eclipsing the team's 12-point deficit erased versus Cornell.
Burton led the Irish in scoring with a game-high 28 points, but the Orange held him to just six after halftime.
With the victory, Syracuse improved to 15-8 all-time versus the Fighting Irish at the Dome.

Up Next
The Orange return to the road Wednesday for a matchup with Clemson. Tip-off at Littlejohn Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. with the game airing live 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).

Gallery: (1-18-2025) Syracuse vs Notre Dame