Late SMU Tip-In Sinks Syracuse

Tuesday, March 4

Dallas, TX

9 PM

Syracuse University

Southern Methodist

3/4/2025 11:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Five Syracuse players scored in double figures Tuesday night but a successful tip-in by SMU in the closing seconds lifted the Mustangs (22-8, 13-6 ACC) past Syracuse (12-18, 6-13 ACC) at Moody Coliseum, 77-75, in the first ever meeting between the teams.

Keon Ambrose-Hylton scored the game-winning basket for SMU with just over two seconds remaining, tipping in a Boopie Miller miss to break the 75-75 tie. The Orange could not get a shot off in time to answer before the clock expired.

Lucas Taylor and Chris Bell paced the Orange with 13 points each, with Jaquan Carlos adding 12 points to go along with eight assists. J.J. Starling and Eddie Lampkin Jr. both added 10 points of their own.

How The Game Was Decided
Syracuse went ahead by eight, 70-62, with just under six minutes left in regulation when Carlos knocked down a baseline jumper. Following two makes at the free throw line by SMU's Chuck Harris, Jyare Davis restored the eight-point advantage with a jumper of his own at the other end.

However, the Orange went scoreless for nearly three minutes after the Davis basket, with SMU drawing back to within two, 72-70, during that stretch. Starling ended the drought by splitting a pair of free throws to extend the Syracuse lead to three before Harris answered with a layup to trim it back to just one. Samet Yigitoglu then leveled the score at 73 after a make at the line with 1:29 on the clock.

On the next Syracuse trip, Yigitoglu fouled out after committing his fifth violation of the night, sending Lampkin to the free throw line with a chance to put the Orange back in front. He split his pair to give Syracuse a 74-73 edge, but a basket by Ambrose-Hylton on the ensuing possession gave the Mustangs their first lead since they were up 31-29 in the opening half. With 27 seconds to go, Carlos was fouled and went to the line to shoot two free throws. He missed the first but knocked down the second to tie the game at 75.

The Mustangs scored the go-ahead basket with just under three seconds left on an Ambrose-Hylton tip-in, and Starling could not get his buzzer-beater heave off in time for Syracuse.

Sprinting Ahead
Syracuse used precise ball movement to stretch its lead to double figures early in the second half. The first three Orange baskets after the intermission came via assists, with Taylor making the first off a pass from Starling. Carlos then found Davis down low with a crafty pass, which Starling backed up with a perfect assist to Lampkin, giving Syracuse a 50-39 lead at the 17:24 mark.

SMU battled back to within five before Syracuse again built a double-digit point advantage. Leading 57-51, Bell and Cuffe Jr. connected on consecutive triples to grow the lead to 63-51, the largest for the Orange in the contest, with 11:56 on the clock. The Mustangs continued to chip away at their deficit, though, getting back to within four, 66-62, when Ygitoglu made a basket with just under seven minutes remaining.

Opening Stampede
The Orange galloped out of the starting gate, making nine of their first 13 field goal attempts to establish a 23-13 advantage in the game's opening 10 minutes. Taylor knocked down his first four field goal attempts, three of which came from beyond the arc. Taylor and Starling combined for 16 of the first 18 points for Syracuse.

Following Syracuse's strong start, SMU answered with a 14-2 stretch to take its first lead of the first half, 27-25, with 7:01 remaining in the period. A pair of Lampkin free throws knotted the score, and after the Mustangs briefly went back ahead, Bell connected on a 3-pointer from the top of the key to vault Syracuse back in front, 32-31.

With just under two minutes remaining, Bell hit his second triple of the frame, and he then sunk two free throws following an SMU technical foul. On the ensuing possession, Starling fed Lampkin with a beautiful pocket pass to set up a slam, which ballooned Syracuse's margin back to nine, 41-32. The Mustangs responded with four straight points, but Syracuse got the final possession of the half, and after Bell misfired on a 3-pointer, Lampkin controlled the ball for an offensive board and kicked it back to Carlos at the top of the arc, who rattled in a 3-pointer as the clock expired to give the Orange a 44-36 halftime edge.

It was the second straight half for Syracuse that ended with a Carlos triple with time expiring, as he also hit the shot to send Saturday's affair at Virginia Tech to overtime.

Notable Numbers

Taylor's 13 points were his most since he paced the Orange with 19 last month at California. He led Syracuse with 11 points in the first half and made 5-of-7 shots from the field in his 16 minutes on the night. He went 3-of-4 from beyond-the-arc for his fourth effort this season with at least three made 3-pointers.
Carlos reached double-digit points (12) for the first time since he delivered 16 at Stanford on Jan. 29. He tallied eight assists on the night and is averaging 8.5 assists over his last two starts.
Bell notched 13 points off the bench. He went 3-of-5 on 3-pointers in his 24 minutes of action. He has now hit multiple triples in eight ACC games on the campaign.
Starling added a season-best six assists to go along with his 10 points.
Lampkin, a Texas native, came up just one rebound shy of a sixth double-double in the last seven contests, but his nine boards still led the Orange.
In his 13 minutes off the bench, Cuffe went 3-of-5 from the field, which included a made 3-pointer, on his way to scoring eight points.
Davis grabbed seven rebounds to trail only Lampkin for the Orange. Over his last four appearances, Davis is averaging 5.5 boards per contest.
Syracuse shot 9-of-22 (41-percent) from beyond-the-arc compared to a 4-of-11 effort (36-percent) from SMU.
The Orange went 14-of-19 (74-percent) at the free throw line while the Mustangs made just 13-of-27 (48-percent) of their attempts.
Syracuse finished with a 34-28 advantage in rebounds. Both teams grabbed 10 offensive boards.
SMU outscored the Orange 44-26 in the paint and forced 14 Syracuse turnovers.

Up Next
Syracuse closes its regular season Saturday at the JMA Wireless Dome against Virginia. It will be Senior Day for the Orange with the game slated to start at 8 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).