Syracuse men’s basketball snaps four-game skid with win over Notre Dame

On a day where program-leading scorer Lawrence Moten was honored, it was almost poetic that the Syracuse Orange caught fire, ending its four-game skid with an 86-72 win over Notre Dame. The win moved the Orange to 4-5 in conference play and 13-9 on the season. 

It was a nice rebound for SU after a tough loss to NC State on Tuesday. Guard Nate Kingz and senior guard J.J. Starling led the way with 49 combined points, and the Orange had 21 assists on 32 made field goals. Defensively, they held the Fighting Irish to 27% from 3-point range, ten percentage points below their season average. 

Head coach Adrian Autry was proud of his team’s ability to stay together throughout the week, a charge led by Starling and junior guard Naithan George.

“I thought our veteran guys took total leadership throughout the week. I thought the way they competed set the tone for us,” Autry said. 

Starling started the game off strong, hitting his first seven shots against his former squad. He finished the game with 23 points. In the second half, it was Kingz who really got it going.

Kingz finished with 28 points, with 22 of those coming in the second half. His hot shooting was the difference in the Orange pulling away late. 

“My mindset’s always I’m going to control what I can control,” Kingz said. “All of my shots came within the offense. But, I don’t really care about the numbers, the little things matter more to me.” 

A big storyline for SU coming in was the announcement that star forward sophomore forward Donnie Freeman would come off the bench, and freshman forward Sadiq White Jr. would replace him with the starting unit. Freeman had started the first 11 games of the season, but Autry said it was more of a strategic game plan move.

“I just thought the matchup was a little better, but I talked to him before, and he was ready to go,” Autry said. “He just wants to win.” 

Autry said he was unsure about whether or not the strategy would be permanent. Whatever direction Syracuse ends up going in, White Jr. said he will be ready to fill his role.

“It’s about being prepared at the end of the day whenever my number is called,” White Jr. said. “My job is to do the little things: high energy, rebound and cut.” 

The Fighting Irish dropped to 11-11 on the season, and 2-7 in conference play. Forward Jalen Haralson led the way with 26 points, followed by guard Braeden Shrewsberry with 17 points. They were the only two bright spots for a Notre Dame team that struggled offensively at times, but head coach Micah Shrewsberry was most disappointed in his team’s defensive performance.

“I just thought we had too many breakdowns,”  Shrewsberry said. “I gotta do a better job with these guys in practice, and trying to prepare them for these situations.” 

When asked about what led to those breakdowns, Shrewsberry pointed to the veterans for the Orange stepping up when it mattered.

“You got a couple older guys that came in and set the tone,” Shrewsberry said. “I thought Kingz and Starling were fantastic, and they made great decisions all night.” 

The Orange hit the road next week for two ranked matchups against No. 18 North Carolina on Monday, followed by No. 17 Virginia on Saturday