Syracuse, NY – The Syracuse basketball team takes on the Youngstown State Penguins at 1 p.m. Saturday at the JMA Wireless Dome.
The game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
See team stats and individual in-game stats here.
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Final: Syracuse 104, Youngstown 95
A career-high performance by JJ Starling helped propel Syracuse to a 104-95 double overtime win against Youngstown State on Saturday afternoon at the JMA Wireless Dome.
Starling scored a career-high with 38 points against the Penguins, surpassing his previous best of 26 points with time remaining in the second half.
Syracuse came out of the gates slowly, at the half trailing Youngstown by seven. The Orange shot 1-13 from long range in the period, and defensively there was little resistance at the rim. The visitors shot 50 percent from the field and were on schedule offensively despite one of their best players, 7-foot-3 senior Gabe Daines, leaving the game with a foul foul.
After the break, Starling was in attack mode. He scored 21 points in the second half, doing so from all areas of the floor. The Syracuse native did most of his damage at the rim but also found touch from deep as well. Perhaps most importantly, he went 8-12 from the free throw line, many of which came in crucial moments down the stretch.
In the first overtime period, Juwan Maxey, who had played sparingly up to that point, cut three straight points, cutting SU’s six-point lead to two. A pair of Penguin free throws would force a second overtime.
Eddie Lumpkin took over for the final five minutes of play. He was scoring in the paint over the taller, taller Daines, finding teammates for open threes, and grabbing key rebounds on both sides of the ball. The center finished the game with 20 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists.
Freshman Donnie Freeman was a key factor during the contest as well. Aside from two huge free throws to put the game out of reach late in the second overtime, he recorded his second double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 steals.
EJ Farmer and Nico Galette led the way for Youngstown State with 26 and 21 points, respectively.
The Orange’s win marked their first double overtime win at home since 2021 with a 112-110 win over Indiana.
2OT
Off an offensive rebound from Lampkin, he found Elijah Moore in the corner for a three-pointer. The first three of the season for the freshman.
Lumpkin twists and turns low, finding an angle to put in for a layup. Orange 93-89.
The center goes straight back to work at the post. Spinning dynes for another notch in plating.
Lumpkin knocks out the second of two on the line. First 20 point night of the season for him.
Galette hit a reverse layup again, cutting SU’s lead to 3.
Starling scores with a right-handed underhand finish after a quick cross.
Freeman sank a pivotal pair of free throws, extending the Orange’s lead back to seven.
over time
Starling picks up where he left off in regulation, scoring first from the floater and then pulling down the next play for a mid-range jumper.
Carlos got a steal from about half the field and finished putting the Orange ahead in the fourth.
Lampkin throws an overhead pass to the buzzer cut for one end. The Orange led 84-78, their largest lead of the contest.
Starling with a finishing scoop on Daynes. 34 points now this afternoon.
Joan Maxey with two clutch triples, cutting the Penguin deficit to two, 86-84.
Carlos missed two free throws and then fouled Ty Harper, sending him to the line with a chance to tie the game. Carlos fouled out with seven seconds left.
Harper hits both on the line. A missed shot by Starling sends the game into double overtime.
The second half
Galette with a reverse finish to put the Penguins up two with 14 seconds to play.
Starling goes coast-to-coast in less than six seconds to tie the game with a layup. A career-high of 28 points now for the Syracuse native.
The Orange got a last-second stop on defense to force overtime in the Dome, scoring 73-73 at the end of regulation.
:37 remaining: Syracuse 71, Youngstown 71
Starling with a runner in the lane to make it a one possession game.
Carlos knocks a pair down the line to tie the game.
Lampkin crashes the offensive board again. He came right back for another second chance bucket.
Freeman runs unchallenged into the open court, gets a complete pass from Starling and finishes in transition.
Starling puts his head back and goes to the basket, but is fouled. Knocks one out of two. Another tie for Syracuse.
4:07 remaining: Syracuse 58, Youngstown 62
Davis goes up to the block with his right hand, but chooses to hit it with his left hand on the way down.
The Orange’s free throw struggles began to show themselves as the game went on. Currently 10-18 at the charity stripe.
Lampkin goes straight at Daines and scores despite the outstretched arms of the 7′3 centre.
Penguin Nico Galette fifth-year senior with a smooth finish to push the lead to four.
7:56 remaining: Syracuse 53, Youngstown 53
Starling strikes from deep, the second of his three goals of the match.
Freeman joins the three, hitting his first goal of the contest from the top of the key.
Davis, who was having a fairly quiet game by his standards, got to the line strong. Makes one of two.
11:28 remaining: Syracuse 46, Youngstown 49
After Daines picked up his fourth foul, he drove Starling right to the rim for an uncontested finish.
Jaquan Carlos finds Starling skipping breakfast for the third move.
14:26 remaining: Syracuse 41, Youngstown 46
Lampkin corrals the loose ball before throwing a bullet pass low to Freeman for a two-handed layup.
On the next play, Lampkin threw his second behind-the-back pass of the day to Freeman for a layup at the rim.
16:24 remaining: Syracuse 37, Youngstown 42
Freeman finds pieces from Starling to get the first points of the second half for the Orange.
Starling pays Freeman next time, finding him on the block. Freeman spins smaller defenders and finishes with an easy finger roll.
First half: Syracuse 31, Youngstown 38
After a cold shooting performance from beyond the arc in the first half, Syracuse trails Youngstown State by seven.
When Youngstown’s 7-foot-3 center Gabe Daines went out early with two quick fouls, there was a golden opportunity to attack SU’s basket. While there were moments where Eddie Lumpkin and others took advantage in the paint, more often than not the Orange settled for 3-pointers that didn’t fall.
Defensively, the Orange had trouble containing drives as well. EJ Farmer, who entered this game shooting 1-19 from the field, had 13 points in the first half. The Penguins generally shoot 50 percent from the field, with most of the half played without one of their best players in Dynes.
JJ Starling leads the Orange with seven points, while Lampkin and Chris Bell each have six points.
SU is currently shooting 7% from deep, and will need to find a way to get going from behind the arc as the game heads into the final 20 minutes of action.
First half
Taylor knocks a pair down the line.
A penalty kick from his own half was conceded by Starling after the referee said he had stepped into the backcourt.
1:07 remaining: Syracuse 29, Youngstown 36
Lampkin with a pass from behind to Petar Majstorovic for the end.
The Orange’s offensive struggles continue, and multiple looks to the basket and offensive rebounds fail to score any goal.
3:51 remaining: Syracuse 27, Youngstown 32
Syracuse forces a five-second inbounds violation.
Starling with shifting crossing. He has six points so far in the competition.
7:09 remaining: Syracuse 22, Youngstown 23
JJ Starling with a hard shot to the basket for two.
Lampkin knocks down a fifteen-foot jumper off a Jyare Davis feed. The two have developed a great synergy when playing in the front court together.
Showing his passing ability, Lampkin threads the needle with a bouncing bass to Lucas Taylor who cuts it off.
Lampkin recovers his miss and brings it back for one. The Colorado transfer has made his presence felt without Daines patrolling the paint on the other end.
11:34 remaining: Syracuse 12, Youngstown 17
Donnie Freeman takes the handoff from Eddie Lumpkin and gets up for a mid-range jumper.
An early second foul to 7-foot-3 Gabe Daines for the Penguins. Look for the Orange to attack the paint now that they are free of their big shot blocker.
Freeman was the first to take advantage of the open space inside, cutting low to facilitate powerful strikes.
Bell then took a turn at the basket, driving to the rim to finish with a one-point lead.
15:31 remaining: Syracuse 5, Youngstown 8
Chris Bell started the scoring for the Orange with a 3-pointer after the Penguins scored the first four points.
Youngstown’s EJ Farmer has six of the team’s eight points in the start. Already during his season he averaged 5.5 points per contest.
Pre-game
After Anthony Day’s emotional high, yes, there is a basketball game to be played.
Syracuse (2-0) wraps up its homestand to start the season against Youngstown State (1-1).
This will be the first match ever between the two teams. The last time Youngstown played against an ACC school was an 88-81 loss at Notre Dame on Nov. 13, 2022. Overall, the Penguins’ record against ACC teams is 0-8, which should bode well for an Orange team that is still searching for quality. Winning from start to finish this season.
Syracuse is coming off another close contest against Colgate where they escaped with a 74-72 win despite missing three straight free throws to ice the game. The Orange held a double-digit lead early in the second half, but Colgate came back and kept it close down the stretch. A second-last defensive stop kept SU undefeated on the young season.
Eddie Lumpkin had 15 points and 12 rebounds, along with five assists. Chris Bell wasn’t far behind with 14 points, including a personal 7-0 run in the second half.
For Youngstown, their last game was an 81-47 loss to No. 21 Ohio State on the road. Fifth-year guard Nico Galette leads the team with 12 points and nearly six rebounds on the night. The Penguins will also have an undisputed size advantage down low today. 7-foot-3 sophomore Gabby Daines runs the middle and is averaging 5 blocks a night.
One thing to watch for: Conversion at the free throw line
Through two games, the team has missed 15 free throws, including some critical ones. These mistakes kept SU’s opponents closer than they should have been and trailed in games. If Syracuse can get to the line and convert at a high rate, it should be a confidence booster for its first road game of the season next week against Texas.
