The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team hung on to win its first road game of the season, edging Georiga Tech 82-72 from Atlanta on Tuesday night. In his second game back, Donnie Freeman went for a career-high 27 points to go with nine rebounds.
Syracuse 10-5 (1-1) defeated Georgia Tech 10-6 (1-2) as the last division one team to play on the road this season. It was the program’s fourth win at McCamish Pavilion all-time. Naithan George, the erstwhile Yellow Jacket guard, went for 17 points on 10-10
shooting from the free throw line against his former team. Kiyan Anthony also finished in double-figures with 11 points, all in the first half.
Baye Ndongo scored 20 points and grabbed 9 rebounds for Georgia Tech. He was sidelined in the first half with an injury before returning in the second. Ndongo picked up three straight fouls less than two minutes into the second half and was forced to sit for extended time.
Syracuse led by as many as 20 but Georgia Tech cut it to five with over two minutes left. The Orange hung on down the stretch thanks to the play of Freeman and made free throws by George.
Syracuse led 44-30 at the half, the most points the Orange have scored in a first half this season.
Syracuse shot 26-61 from the floor (43%), 7-19 from three (37%) and 23-31 from the line ( 74%). Georgia Tech shot 25-64 from the floor (39%), 4-18 from three (22%) and 18-26 from the line (69%). Syracuse won the rebounding battle 44-34 but turned it over 15 times to Georgia Tech’s nine.
To the takeaways:
Freeman’s return
If there was any second-guessing Freeman’s importance to this Syracuse team, let there be no doubt. In his second game back from a right leg injury that caused him to miss nine games, the star sophomore was the difference-maker in this game’s outcome. It’s hard to think Syracuse wins this game without him. Freeman’s scoring ability was sorely missed. So was his rebounding.
Freeman is talented enough to fool observers into believing the Orange offense might actually be good. (Not you through. You know better.)
Syracuse’s top professional prospect is a matchup nightmare capable of stretching defenses and scoring from the block or over the top of guys at the rim. He knocked down 2-4 from three against Georgia Tech and went 7-11 from the free throw line.
“Donnie’s big for us,” Adrian Autry said post-game. “He gives us a guy that we can go inside, a guy that can step outside. He’s a versatile offensive player. I think he really kind of sets the tone for us. He gives us a different look. I thought the games without him we were way more perimeter oriented.”
Freeman bailed out a bad offensive possession to give Syracuse a 75-67 with 90 seconds left that seemingly put the game out of reach. He blocked three shots and had a pair of assists to boot.
Needless to say, Freeman’s return has been a major tailwind for Syracuse. That said…
Offensive problems come home to roost
In the first half the Syracuse offense looked coherent with all five guys moving. The ball popped, threes were falling and dunks were flushed.
Then reality hit.
The much-maligned Orange offense reared its head again in the second half, devolving into isolation basketball with contested shots and ill-timed turnovers. The Orange went over eight minutes with just one made field goal during a critical stretch, allowing Georgia Tech to trim the lead to just two possessions.
The untimely gaffe on offense could be attributed to Georgia Tech’s uptick in defensive intensity, while Syracuse still played a part. Why a hot-handed Freeman went without touches or a low-post clear-out during that stretch is curious.
The offensive woes almost came back to bite the Orange. You can bet that better teams will exact a heavier price.
Kingz clamps
Georgia Tech only has so many ways to hurt you on offense. Kowacie Reeves — who dropped 23 points on Duke — is the main weapon.
Nate Kingz played strong positional defense and was mostly matched up with Reeves throughout the game. Kingz limited him to 11 points on 4-13 shooting. Outside of one defensive lapse from him that led to an open three in the second half, Reeves was by and large held in check.
For his part, Kingz had 7 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. Defense isn’t always sexy, but it is productive.
