Syracuse, N.Y. ― The Syracuse Orange frittered away almost all of a 14-point lead in the game’s last seven minutes but barely held on for a 78-73 win over Monmouth inside the JMA Wireless Dome on Tuesday night.
The Orange nearly gave the game away with incredibly poor free throw shooting. Syracuse made only 57% of its free throws, going 19-for-33 at the line.
In the second half, Syracuse had four different occasions when a player went to the line to shoot two shots and missed them both.
The last came with 10 seconds left and Syracuse clinging to a 76-73 lead. Bryce Zephir, a reserve guard, missed both of his free throws, giving Monmouth a chance to tie the game.
But Jason Rivera-Torres’ 3-pointer was off target. Syracuse’s Donnie Freeman hit two free throws with less than a second on the clock to account for the final score.
Syracuse Orange Mens Basketball 2025-26: Syracuse vs. Monmouth
It was an ugly win, but it still lifted SU’s record to 4-0.
The last time Syracuse started a season with four straight wins was the 2017-18 season when the Orange got off to a 6-0 start.
Syracuse struggled with Monmouth for most of the first half, but the Orange pulled away in the second half.
The Orange steadily increased its lead. Syracuse’s cushion ballooned to 63-49 with 8:28 remaining when Naithan George lobbed to the high-flying Sadiq White for a slam-dunk.
Syracuse seemingly had the game in hand, but Monmouth refused to go away. Or Syracuse was unable to put the Hawks away.
The Hawks closed to within 67-60 on Justin Ray’s 3-pointer with 5:25 left. Ray was a problem all night for the Orange. The Monmouth guard torched a bevy of SU defenders to the tune of 25 points.
Monmouth got to within two points at 74-72 when Jack Collins hit a 3-pointer with 34 seconds left.
Freeman hit two free throws to give SU a four-point cushion with 25.8 seconds left. The 6-9 sophomore led the Orange with 18 points and seven rebounds. He was one of four Syracuse players in double-figures.
Nate Kingz, the transfer from Oregon State, had his best game in a Syracuse uniform. The 6-5 senior had averaged 6.0 points in SU’s first three games, but he busted out for 15 points against Monmouth.
George scored 12 points and also dished out a season-high nine assists.
JJ Starling added 11 in his return from injury. Starling had missed each of the last two games and most of the season-opener. The senior guard injured his right leg in the first four minutes of SU’s first game of the season against Binghamton on Nov. 3.
Starling’s return comes just ahead of the Orange’s trip to Las Vegas to play in the Players Era Festival. Syracuse’s first game in the 32-team event is on Monday against No. 2 Houston.
Monmouth fell to 1-3 with road losses to La Salle and Seton Hall.
Syracuse struggled to stop Monmouth through much of the first half. The Hawks were making 50% of their field goals until cooling off over the last four minutes.
The two teams had traded the lead back and forth until Syracuse scored nine straight points to surge ahead 34-26.
A bizarre sequence with just over 2 minutes remaining stunted Syracuse’s momentum. White collided with Ray as the two chased after a loose ball. It was a hard collision with the 6-foot-3 Ray getting the worst of it from the 6-foot-9 White.
White was whistled for the foul. Then Freeman and Monmouth’s Cornelius Robinson received technical fouls. Syracuse coach Adrian Autry voiced his displeasure and also received a technical.
Ray, subsequently, went to the foul line and made four free throws, cutting SU’s margin in half.
