Freeman's 25 Leads Orange Past Florida State

Tuesday, January 13

Syracuse, NY

9:00 PM

Syracuse University

12-5,3-1ACC

Florida State

7-10,0-4ACC

Florida St.

Syracuse

1/13/2026 11:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Donnie Freeman had 25 points and eight rebounds and Syracuse (12-5, 3-1 ACC) won for the sixth time in seven outings by defeating Florida State (7-10, 0-4 ACC), 94-86, at the JMA Wireless Dome.

Tyler Betsey added a career-high 18 points, including six 3-pointers, and Naithan Geoge posted a career-high 13 assists for Syracuse. William Kyle III finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, while also surpassing 1,000 collegiate points.

The Orange made a season-best 11 3-pointers while shooting 37-of-62 (.597) from the field, their best field goal percentage this season.

Florida State was led by Kobe MaGee's 20 points and 18 from Martin Somerville.

How the Game was Decided
With just over six minutes remaining, the Orange led, 79-75, after a tug-of-war second half in which neither team could establish a commanding lead. Florida State's Somerville drove to the hoop looking to cut the deficit to two, but Freeman chased blocked the attempt and then followed with a layup and free throw to push the Orange advantage to 82-75.

The Seminoles continued to claw back, but Freeman refused to let them in. He hit a step-back jumper moments later before knocking down two more free throws to neutralize Florida State's effort.

Each time the Seminoles drew closer, the Orange answered. Senior J.J. Starling delivered a floater before Freeman added yet another basket with a tip-in for his ninth point in the final six minutes. Syracuse delivered the dagger when George lobbed an alley-oop to Kyle III for a dunk, making it 92-86. Starling threw down one more dunk for good measure, bringing the final score to 94-86.

Orange Answer Seminoles' Early Run
Florida State punched first, opening the game on an 11-3 run thanks to 4-of-5 (.800) shooting from the field, including two 3-pointers. The Orange's lone points came from a Nate Kingz triple.

Syracuse answered with an 11-4 run over the next 2:35, shooting 5-of-7 from the field while forcing two Seminole turnovers. George ignited the stretch with a 3-pointer before Kyle III swatted away a Florida State layup attempt on the ensuing possession. Though Syracuse's next shot missed and the Seminoles grabbed the rebound, Starling picked off the outlet pass and converted a layup.

Freeman capped the run with three consecutive buckets — an alley-oop dunk from George sandwiched between two layups — to cut the Florida State lead to 15-14.

Syracuse Surges to Close First Half
After the early exchanges, neither team led by more than six points for the remainder of the half.

Both squads found success from beyond the arc. Syracuse's Tyler Betsey drained his first 3-pointer at the 14-minute mark before knocking down another less than 90 seconds later to answer Florida State's barrage from deep.

The teams continued trading baskets, but the Seminoles held a 36-30 advantage with 4:20 remaining in the half.

Syracuse closed furiously, scoring 10 unanswered points in under two minutes behind two more Betsey triples, complemented by layups from Kyle III and Starling. Florida State snapped its scoring drought with a layup, but Freeman responded with his first 3-pointer of the evening with 42 seconds left. The Seminoles completed the half with a dunk, making it 43-40 Syracuse at the break.

Syracuse shot 7-of-18 (.389) from 3-point range in the opening half, with Betsey leading the way at 4-of-6 for a team-high 12 points. Florida State was 7-of-14 (.500) from deep, with four different players recording makes from beyond the arc.

Second Half Highlight By More Offense
The Orange pounced coming out of halftime, scoring seven unanswered points to take their first double-digit lead at 50-40. Freeman ignited the run with a driving layup through contact before completing the three-point play from the line.

Syracuse forced a turnover on the ensuing possession before Starling found Kyle III for a high-flying alley-oop. Moments later, the Seminoles turned it over again and Kyle III threw down another emphatic slam to cap the 7-0 stretch.

Florida State answered, going on a 15-7 run to cut it to a two-point game at 57-55 with just over 15 minutes remaining.

The teams traded baskets over the next few minutes until the Seminoles took a 69-68 lead with under 10 minutes to play. Betsey provided a much-needed spark, drilling his sixth 3-pointer of the game to give Syracuse a 71-69 advantage.

The Betsey triple ignited eight unanswered points over a 90-second stretch that featured suffocating defense and three Florida State turnovers. Freshman Sadiq White Jr. contributed four points, including an alley-oop slam, to push the Orange lead to 76-69.

The Seminoles chipped away at the free-throw line to bring the score back to 79-75 before Syracuse pulled away in the final minutes.

Notable Numbers

The Orange have scored 40 or more points in the first half in three consecutive contests.
Betsey hit four 3-pointers in the first half alone, tying his previous single-game total.
Betsey's six 3-pointers made was the most by a Syracuse player in a single game this season.
Freeman has scored 20 points or more in four straight contests.
Syracuse shot 19-of-28 (.679) in the second half.
The Orange recorded 22 assists in the win, a season high for Syracuse.
Syracuse owned a 24-9 advantage on fastbreak points.

Up Next
The Orange are back on the road this weekend to take on Boston College this Saturday. The tilt with the Eagles is set for a 2 p.m. tip off at Conte Forum.

Syracuse Tickets
Season and individual tickets are available at cuse.com/feature/basketball-tickets

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