Carlos Forces OT, Orange Fall To Virginia Tech

Saturday, March 1

Blacksburg, VA

12 PM

Syracuse University

12-17,6-12ACC

101

Virginia Tech

13-16,8-10ACC

OT 1

Syracuse

Virginia Tech

101

3/1/2025 2:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Jaquan Carlos forced overtime for Syracuse (12-17, 6-12 ACC) against Virginia Tech (13-16, 8-10 ACC) on Saturday at Cassell Coliseum after knocking down a contested 3-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation, but the Hokies held on in the extra period for a 101-95 victory.

Jyare Davis paced the Orange with 21 points while Eddie Lampkin Jr. registered his 13^th double-double of the campaign behind 16 points and 12 boards. J.J. Starling added 16 points of his own with Kyle Cuffe Jr. and Chris Bell combining for 25 points off the bench.

This was Syracuse's third overtime game of the campaign, the most in a season for the Orange since playing four in 2021-22. This was the first out of three overtime affairs this season for Syracuse that did not require multiple extra periods.

How The Game Was Decided
Syracuse led by 13 points, 69-56, with less than nine minutes remaining before Virginia Tech launched a 14-1 run to tie the game at 70 with 4:42 to go in regulation. Just over three minutes later, Jaden Schutt gave the Hokies a 78-77 advantage, their first lead since the score was 4-2, after converting on a layup, and Mylyjael Poteat extended Virginia Tech's lead to three after hitting a turnaround jumper with 27 seconds remaining.

Virginia Tech went 2-of-4 from free throw line over the final 13 seconds, leaving the door open for the Orange down just three entering their final possession. After Davis inbounded the ball to Carlos with 4.5 seconds on the clock, Carlos dribbled up the floor and put up a 3-pointer from the right wing that rattled in with less than a second remaining. It was his only make from beyond-the-arc Saturday on six attempts.

The Orange produced an early lead in overtime and were up 89-88 when Ben Burnham put the Hokies on top with a pull-up jumper at the 2:23 mark. It was an advantage Virginia Tech did not relinquish over the remainder of the contest. A 3-pointer by Ben Hammond on the ensuing possession pushed the Hokies up four and the Orange drew no closer than two over the final 1:36 of the game. Virginia Tech bested Syracuse in the overtime period, 19-13.

Building The Lead
The Orange engineered a double-figure lead early in the second half, as a Bell 3-pointer with 17 minutes left catapulted Syracuse ahead, 54-44. After Virginia Tech cut its deficit back to single digits, Starling extended the lead back to 11 points, 63-52, with just under 12 minutes to go after hitting a jumper.

Davis then hit a pair of free throws to take the lead to 13, and after the Hokies again got back to within nine, layups from Carlos and Starling put the Orange back up 13 entering the final nine minutes of regulation.

Offense Comes Easy
The Orange picked up right where they left off earlier this week against NC State, shooting 66-percent from the field in the opening frame Saturday (19-of-29) on the way to a 47-38 halftime advantage. Syracuse doubled up the Hokies in the paint, 28-14, in the opening 20 minutes, with Lampkin Jr. and Davis combining for 22 points to spearhead the Orange's attack.

Syracuse built an early 22-11 lead by making 8-of-11 shots to start the contest, a run capped by 3-pointers from Cuffe Jr. and Petar Majstorovic, the first two makes from beyond-the-arc in the period for the Orange. After the Hokies clawed back to within one, 29-28, with just over six minutes remaining, Syracuse responded with six consecutive points from Starling and Lampkin. The Orange then converted five of its final six field goal attempts to close out the half, four of which came in the paint from Davis, Lampkin and Naheem McLeod.

It was the second consecutive half Syracuse shot over 60-percent from the field, as the Orange made 72-percent (13-of-18) of its attempts in the second half against NC State.

Eddie Eats In First Half
Lampkin Jr. scored a game-high 14 points in the opening period in just 13 minutes of action. He went 6-of-10 from the field in the first half and scored six of Syracuse's first eight points in the contest. After going nearly 10 minutes without scoring, he made a basket at the 7:40 mark to snap the drought before scoring six more points from there, including a layup in the closing seconds, to secure a nine-point Orange lead entering the intermission.

Lampkin also grabbed seven first-half rebounds to pace the Orange.

Notable Numbers

Davis turned in his third 20-plus point effort of the season and his first since scoring 20 against Notre Dame on Dec. 7. The 21 points were just one short of his season-high of 22, which came in the season opener versus Le Moyne.
With his 13^th double-double, Lampkin moved into a tie for second with Oshea Brissett (2017-18) for the most double-doubles in a campaign by a Syracuse player since the start of the 2024-25 season. Only Jesse Edwards (14, 2022-23) has more in that span for Syracuse.
Starling scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half and overtime. He has now reached double figures in eight consecutive outings.
Cuffe Jr. also came within one of his season high, as his 13 points in 17 minutes off the bench were his most in a game since he also tallied 13 against Notre Dame on Jan. 18. He knocked down a trio of 3-pointers, matching his career best.
Bell reached double figures for the 14^th time this season with 11 points in a reserve role. He had a perfect shooting day, as he finished 2-of-2 from the field, 1-for-1 on 3-pointers and 6-of-6 at the free throw line.
In addition to hitting the tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation, Carlos dished out nine assists to lead the Orange. It was his most assists in a game since he also posted nine in the win over Bucknell on Dec. 28. He also set a season high with six rebounds.
Syracuse outrebounded Virginia Tech, 30-23, and won the battle on the offensive glass, 10-4.
The Orange produced 48 paint points and are averaging 47 paint points over the last two outings. The Hokies finished with 38 points in the paint.
Both teams got 30-plus points from their reserves, with Virginia Tech producing 47 bench points compared to 33 for the Orange.
Syracuse went 23-of-29 on free throws (79-percent).
The Orange are now 2-1 in their three overtime games this season.

Up Next
Syracuse will play its final road game of the regular season Tuesday at SMU. Tip-off at Moody Coliseum is scheduled for 9 p.m. with the game set to air on ESPNU.

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).