Syracuse, N.Y. — The Syracuse basketball squad is set to face off against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at 12 p.m. on Saturday at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Indiana. You can catch the game on The CW. For live team and individual statistics during the game, click here. Note: Refresh this page continuously during […]
Syracuse, N.Y. — The Syracuse basketball squad is set to face off against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at 12 p.m. on Saturday at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Indiana.
You can catch the game on The CW.
For live team and individual statistics during the game, click here.
Note: Refresh this page continuously during Syracuse’s clash with Notre Dame for the latest updates
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Final Score: Notre Dame 69, Syracuse 64
In a crucial moment for Syracuse (4-4), Elijah Moore made what appeared to be a game-changing 3-pointer—celebration ensued—but it was later deemed a 2-point jump shot with mere seconds remaining in a competitive clash against Notre Dame.
Syracuse’s inability to make a single 3-pointer in their 69-64 defeat against Notre Dame (5-5) marks a first since the 2014-15 season.
The Orange have now dropped four out of five games, concluding a three-game winning streak versus Notre Dame in their historical matchup.
Despite Jyare Davis and Donnie Freeman combining for 40 points and shooting 14-for-21, they were outdone by Notre Dame’s Tae Davis, Braeden Shrewsberry, and J.R. Konieczny, who aggregated 52 points. Only Kebba Njie and Matt Allocco managed to contribute to the scoreboard for Notre Dame.
Shrewsberry’s impressive 22 points, including 15 from beyond the arc, allowed the Fighting Irish to gain a vital lead in the final moments, breaking a five-game losing streak. This victory also marked Notre Dame’s first ACC opening win since the 2017-18 season.
The first half saw mediocre shooting from both sides, with Syracuse at 39% and Notre Dame at 44%. However, Konieczny made an impact, dropping 13 of his 15 points by halftime.
While Freeman and Davis struggled with just two field goals each in the first half, they converted three free throws apiece to lead the scoring for Syracuse with seven points. In the second half, they found their rhythm, alternating between jump shots and layups as Notre Dame sought to maintain control.
Syracuse took its first lead in the second half and exchanged the lead with Notre Dame eight times until the Fighting Irish claimed a two-possession advantage with under 30 seconds left.
The game was sealed when Shrewsberry hit his fifth three-pointer, leaving Syracuse with unsuccessful attempts to equalize in their final two possessions.
Following this road trip, Syracuse will return home to finish out its non-conference schedule, beginning with a matchup against in-state rival Albany on Dec. 10. Notre Dame will remain in South Bend for two additional non-conference games, starting with a contest against Dartmouth on Dec. 11.
Second Half Summary
:17 left: Notre Dame 67, Syracuse 64
In what was initially classified as a three-pointer, Elijah Moore tallied his first points of the game with a long jumper as Syracuse remained without a 3-pointer at 0-for-7.
Shrewsberry responded with a three-pointer, maintaining a three-point lead for Notre Dame.
Njie drew a foul on Jyare Davis, and Syracuse called a timeout before Njie went to the foul line.
2:55 left: Notre Dame 63, Syracuse 60
Shrewsberry’s fifth three-pointer netted Notre Dame a three-point lead.
Jyare Davis scored 20 points, becoming the second Syracuse player to reach this mark, before picking up his second personal foul.
Syracuse capitalized with 19 points off turnovers, compared to 9 for Notre Dame, but the Fighting Irish secured 30 rebounds against Syracuse’s 27.
4:18 left: Notre Dame 60, Syracuse 58
Syracuse caught up to 54 at one point, then Freeman netted a layup, granting the Orange a brief lead.
Shrewsberry was fouled in the following possession, making both free throws while crossing the 20-point threshold.
Njie scored on a layup and drew a foul on Freeman, converting the three-point play to mark the eighth lead change in the half.
Freeman reached 20 points with a driving layup. Lampkin collected his third foul against Allocco, who missed both free throws. Both teams were in the bonus.
Njie blocked a shot from Carlos, but the Orange turned it over due to a shot clock violation after Carlos reclaimed the rebound. Syracuse called its first timeout of the second half.
7:59 left: Notre Dame 52, Syracuse 51
Freeman made both free throws out of the timeout, tying the game at 45.
Syracuse’s Davis scored on a layup to regain the lead, but fouled Konieczny on the defensive end. Konieczny sank both free throws for his first points of the half, leading Notre Dame with 15 points among three players in double-digits.
Cuffe drew his third personal foul, and Shrewsberry hit a jumper for his 15th point.
Chance Westry was called for a personal foul, and Notre Dame’s Matt Allocco made one of two free throws. Both teams hit several jump shots, but Syracuse was within one before Notre Dame pushed its lead back to three.
Lucas Taylor picked up his fourth personal foul while Syracuse trailed by one.
Syracuse’s Davis and Freeman combined for 31 points, while Shrewsberry, Konieczny, and Davis accounted for 47 points for Notre Dame.
11:50 left: Notre Dame 45, Syracuse 43
Notre Dame kicked off the media timeout with another three-pointer.
Syracuse regained the lead with back-to-back jumpers, hitting 5-of-7 since the game resumed. Both teams exchanged leads, with Notre Dame still up by one.
Freeman drew a foul driving through the paint, completing the three-point play to even the score. Njie finally scored on a dunk with two Orange players in the vicinity.
Davis from Notre Dame was to stop Syracuse’s next possession with his fourth foul, sending Freeman back to the free throw line.
Syracuse has held the lead for 24 seconds and still has failed to land a single 3-pointer against the Fighting Irish.
15:38 left: Notre Dame 36, Syracuse 34
Freeman tallied the first points of the half at the free throw line, making both attempts. The opening possessions of the second half saw neither team score.
Lampkin fouled out on Notre Dame’s next possession, and Davis successfully netted both free throws.
Neither team had success from long range, both going 0-for-6. Chris Bell snagged a long rebound and charged down the court, drawing a foul from Roper, who has two fouls now. Bell converted both free throws, marking his first points.
Carlos hit a layup, bringing Syracuse within one score for the second time that afternoon. The Orange forced a shot clock violation before Freeman made a layup to snag the Orange’s first lead of the game.
The lead was short-lived, as Shrewsberry answered with Notre Dame’s first three-pointer of the second half. Shrewsberry now boasts 10 points for the Fighting Irish.
Halftime: Notre Dame 30, Syracuse 26
A challenging start for Syracuse’s offense has them trailing by two possessions against Notre Dame.
The Orange managed only 39% shooting from the field, failing to land a single three-pointer at 0-for-4, and only converting 8-of-14 from the free-throw line. Freeman and Jyare Davis were the scoring leaders with seven points each, while Lampkin and Notre Dame’s Njie collected five rebounds apiece. Konieczny led all scorers with 13 points, being the sole player above ten points.
Konieczny’s quick scoring provided a lift for the Fighting Irish, including a three-pointer off an outlet pass and a slam dunk after cutting through the lane.
Syracuse failed to lead at any point in the first half, with only a tie lasting just over two minutes.
In a rivalry battle under the basket, both teams relied on their guards for fast outlet passes or aggressive drives along the baseline, resulting in both Syracuse and Notre Dame scoring 16 points in the paint, with Lampkin contributing five out of the Orange’s total.
Njie’s two fouls limited his time to 11 minutes in the first half, while Lampkin logged 13 minutes.
Neither team went on notable scoring runs in the first half, although a scoreless stretch for over three minutes occurred for both teams mid-way through.
First Half Overview
:40 remaining: Notre Dame 30, Syracuse 26
Carlos made a layup, scoring for Syracuse and improving to 2-for-3 against Notre Dame.
Davis from Notre Dame was fouled but missed his free throw. Nije received a foul for hooking while trying to defend, marking his second personal foul.
Both teams reached bonus free throws within the last two minutes of the half.
Konieczny executed a dunk, followed by a jumper from Lucas Taylor, keeping the deficit at six points.
Freeman drew a foul with 40 seconds left, sinking both free throws.
3:38 remaining: Notre Dame 26, Syracuse 19
Neither team managed to score for over three minutes, with Syracuse at 2-for-12 from the field against Notre Dame’s 0-for-5.
The Orange experienced four turnovers amid their scoring troubles.
Lampkin broke the scoring drought with a free throw, then added a layup that marked the first field goal for Syracuse in over five minutes.
Konieczny became the first player to achieve double digits with 11 points, going 5-for-7 from the field. Following a miss from Lampkin, Shrewsberry drained a three-pointer, prompting Syracuse to call a timeout as they have yet to make a single three-pointer in the half.
7:49 remaining: Notre Dame 21, Syracuse 16
Jyare Davis helped reduce the gap for Syracuse and subsequently tied the game via a successful three-point play, but the tie was short-lived as J.R. Konieczny netted five consecutive points to revive Notre Dame’s lead.
Konieczny recorded a shooting percentage of 80% for the first half along with two rebounds. While Notre Dame prevented any more points from Syracuse.
Lampkin fought for three rebounds and three assists, attempting to get back missed shots in the post on both ends of the court.
11:33 remaining: Notre Dame 14, Syracuse 9
Davis scored his first three-pointer following an inbounds pass from Notre Dame. The Syracuse defense held the Fighting Irish scoreless for 2:17, yet Notre Dame converted five out of their last seven attempts.
The Fighting Irish have aimed to double team Lampkin whenever he has the ball, prompting the Orange center to share the ball and reducing his scoring chances.
The Orange faced a four-minute scoring drought without a field goal. Davis currently leads with seven points while Donnie Freeman has four points for Syracuse.
15:53 remaining: Notre Dame 8, Syracuse 6
Tae Davis kicked off the scoring for Notre Dame on their first possession, and Eddie Lampkin followed with points on Syracuse’s initial possession.
The Fighting Irish added four more points when Braeden Shrewsberry drew a foul for a potential four-point play, with Lampkin being penalized for the personal foul just three minutes into the game.
Chris Bell also drew a foul, converting one of two attempts. Davis scored yet again with a layup, renewing Notre Dame’s advantage.
Lucas Taylor was charged with his first personal foul, amounting to Syracuse’s third foul in the half by the media timeout. Lampkin secured two points and assisted twice for Syracuse, while Jaquan Carlos netted two points and collected one assist.
Pregame Observations
Syracuse (4-3) is set to play its opener in the ACC against Notre Dame (4-5) on Saturday.
The Orange are recovering from a loss against No. 3 Tennessee, where they experienced their largest deficit of the season, finishing 96-70 in the ACC/SEC Challenge. Likewise, the Fighting Irish fell to Georgia, finishing 69-48 in their own ACC/SEC Challenge match.
This marks the 57th meeting between these programs, with Syracuse leading 34-22. The Orange have triumphed in their last three matchups against Notre Dame, including a tight 88-85 victory in the Carrier Dome last season.
Syracuse is still missing its leading scorer JJ Starling, who was reported to have broken his left hand on Tuesday. The head coach, Adrian Autry, mentioned that there’s no specific timetable for Starling’s return, although the injury is not regarded as season-ending.
Same starters as a game ago for Syracuse: Lucas Taylor, Jaquan Carlos, Eddie Lampkin, Chris Bell, Donnie Freeman.
— Donna Ditota (@DonnaDitota1) December 7, 2024
Moreover, the Fighting Irish are without last season’s ACC Rookie of the Year, Markus Burton, who sustained a knee injury last week. Burton’s injury occurred in a game against Rutgers on November 26 and is anticipated to sideline him for a considerable part of the regular season.
Neither Syracuse nor Notre Dame has secured a win when playing without Starling or Burton so far this season—Syracuse is at 0-1 and Notre Dame is 0-3.
Without Starling, Autry has enlisted Georgia State transfer Lucas Taylor to fill the starting role. Elijah Moore, who came off the bench against Tennessee, was impressive with 24 points but was unable to secure a win for the Orange.
Similarly, Notre Dame’s head coach Micah Shrewsberry has turned to Imes Logan and Julian Roper as starters in place of Burton. The pair has combined for a total of just six points and 19 rebounds in the three contests when Burton has been absent.
One critical aspect to monitor will be which team can gain the upper hand in the paint.
Eddie Lampkin recorded merely six points and four rebounds in 23 minutes during the game against Tennessee. He is one of two Syracuse players who have recorded at least two double-doubles this season, alongside Chris Bell.
Lampkin will face off against Notre Dame’s center Kebba Njie, a 6-10 transfer from Penn State who averages 6.7 points and leads the Fighting Irish in rebounds, playing approximately 22 minutes per contest.
This battle between the two centers could play a pivotal role in determining the performance of their respective teams in this ACC matchup. Both Njie and Lampkin are adept at boxing out, scoring, and frustrating their opponents.
What adjustments Autry and Shrewsberry make when facing their opponent’s strength remains to be seen; the outcome in the paint could severely impact the result of this game, alongside the contribution from the benches.
