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Saturday’s matchup between Syracuse and Boston College served as a battle of the bottom feeders. The two squads were a combined 6-17 in conference play, with one of those victories being BC’s over Miami — one of two teams that was below the Orange and the Eagles in the standings.

With just a month to play in the regular season, the two squads will likely be fighting for the final spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. The Orange nearly blew a key chance Saturday. Syracuse (11-13, 5-8 Atlantic Coast) outlasted Boston College (10-13, 2-10 Atlantic Coast) 95-86 in triple overtime, ending on top despite blowing a 10-point second-half lead. J.J. Starling’s 28 total points willed the Orange to victory.

With seconds left in the second overtime, Starling tied the game with his first free throw but missed the second. BC had a final shot, but Kyle Cuffe Jr. stole the ball and missed the game-winner by an inch. In the third overtime, Donald Hand Jr., the best free throw shooter in the ACC, was faulty at the line. Jyáre Davis built a 3-point lead with multiple finishes inside. Starling pushed the lead to five, and the Orange escaped.

But it never should’ve been that way.

The Eagles forced it to come down to the final seconds of regulation. Trailing by three with five seconds to go, Chad Venning dished to Fred Payne, who sank it from the top of the key. The 3-pointer tied the game with 1.2 seconds to play, eventually forcing overtime. Davis converted on three straight free throws in the overtime period, but Hand scored a 3.

Starling retook the lead, but Josh Beadle did the same with a floater. Another Davis free throw reclaimed the lead by one, but Hand answered with one of his own. With just over a minute to go, Lucas Taylor scored a reverse layup, but Venning scored a key and-one, taking a 76-75 lead with under a minute remaining.

Starling went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe, tying the game and giving BC a potential last-shot opportunity. The Eagles turned it over, and as Starling raced down the court with seconds to go, a nearly halfcourt heave hit back iron, forcing another overtime.

Beadle again converted from deep, taking a three-point lead to begin the second overtime. A BC defensive stop allowed Hand to score inside, pushing the lead to five. The Orange fought back, cutting the deficit to one with 30 seconds to play. SU tied the game in dramatic fashion and pulled away in the third overtime.

After grabbing an early lead, a scoring drought from 15 minutes to under 10 limited the Orange. SU eventually broke through with 9:45 to play, as Cuffe recorded a steal and took it the distance. Chris Bell came down and hit a left corner 3, followed by a Naheem McLeod tip-in to lead 19-18.

As the Orange and the Eagles wrestled back and forth with the lead, SU’s biggest threat was silent. Starling, who scored a game-high 26 points in Syracuse’s first game against BC, started 0-for-5, not getting on the board until under five minutes to play in the opening half. Meanwhile, Hand made his mark, scoring 10 in the first half and 28 overall.

To close the half, Starling, Taylor and Eddie Lampkin Jr. added scores as SU’s defense forced two turnovers in the final minutes, holding a 34-27 lead at the half.

A scoring barrage began the second half, with Starling further breaking out of his shell and Syracuse still commanding an advantage. He tallied 10 points across the first five minutes and change of the second frame, as Cuffe added another 3 to give SU a 53-45 advantage, its biggest of the game at that point.

As Starling caught fire, he was then substituted out. Starling’s presence limited scoring, but the Orange’s defense stood strong. With Cuffe and Jaquan Carlos holding down the backcourt, a combination of Petar Majstorovic, Bell and Lampkin limited Venning and company. But you can’t keep your best player out for too long and expect to survive.

The Eagles mounted a 6-0 run while Starling stared into the abyss on the bench. Elijah Strong converted a free throw, Hand splashed a 3-pointer and Payne buried a mid-range jumper. Starling didn’t reenter until 7:02 remaining, a five-minute thread on the sideline where BC cut its deficit to 59-55.

When Starling returned, the Orange continued to slip up. An offensive foul call on Syracuse forced Adrian Autry to sit in frustration with his head down and his hands covering his face.

Leading by only three in the closing minutes, Starling fought his way inside and forced a foul on a floater. He downed the pair, extending SU’s lead to 63-58 with 3:30 to play. Starling again moved inside, barreling down the right elbow and floating it in.

BC’s heave in the final seconds knotted the game at 67-67, a catastrophic blown 10-point second-half lead. Fighting through the three overtimes, a back-and-forth display of poor free throw shooting and incompetent basketball, the Orange still secured the victory. A win is a win. But it couldn’t have been uglier.

Published on February 8, 2025 at 6:23 pm

Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky