Syracuse basketball holds off late rally by Monmouth: Final score, recap, photos

Syracuse, N.Y. — The Syracuse basketball team takes on the Monmouth Hawks at 9 p.m., Tuesday in the JMA Wireless Dome.

The game will air on ACC Network.

See in-game team and individual stats here.

Note: Refresh this page throughout Syracuse’s game vs. Monmouth to see the latest updates

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Final: Syracuse 78, Monmouth 73

Syracuse survived a late rally by Monmouth to win a game unlike any of the previous three non-conference games.

The Orange saw a 14-point lead with just less than 7 minutes to play get whittled down to just two in the final minute.

Bryce Zephir, who had not attempted a free throw this season, went to the line with 10.1 seconds remaining and missed both shots, giving the Hawks a final chance to force overtime.

An off-balanced 3 by Jason Rivera-Torres was not close, and the Orange moved to 4-0.

SU finished 19-for-33 from the free throw line, with sophomore forward Donnie Freeman 12-of-14 from the line himself.

The Orange hasn’t been great from the free throw line through four games, and it’s a concern heading to an elite multi-team event next week in Las Vegas, where slim margins are to be expected against better opponents.

The Hawks went to their top scorer on their final possession, but it was guard Justin Ray (career-high 25 points on 4-for-7 3-point shooting) that kept Monmouth in the game.

The two teams combined for 47 fouls.

Monmouth doesn’t fold

SCORE UPDATE: Syracuse 74, Monmouth 72 with 34.7 seconds remaining second half

Monmouth will fight this one out to the wire.

Collins’ 3 with 36 seconds remaining has trimmed SU’s lead to just two points.

After trailing by 14, the Hawks ripped off seven-straight points, and got Sadiq White fouled out of the game with 6:27 remaining.

Justin Ray released a 3 off with Freeman closing out and hits nothing but net to cut a 14-point deficit in half.

Ray averaged 3 points per game last season and has poured in a career-high 25 points, including 4-for-6 from 3-point range and 9-for-9 from the free throw line.

William Kyle worked hard down low for an and-one that fouled Spartalis out of the game. The freshman from Greece finished with 18 points and five rebounds.

George serves it up for White

SCORE UPDATE: Syracuse 63, Monmouth 51 with 7:59 remaining in second half

It took until midway through the second half, but the Orange has gotten some breathing room against the Hawks, stretching the lead to 14 on a corner 3 by Kingz, the first time SU held a double-digit lead.

Naithan George is up to eight assists, the last of which was served up on a platter for Sadiq White to slam home in transition.

George goes back to the lob to White, but the pass was a touch too high. The freshman forward still gathered the pass and went up for the 2.

Small moment of concern as Anthony was seen holding his hand. He played through the defensive possession before White’s alley-oop, but was later seen in his warm-up sweats on the bench before checking into the game in the final minute.

Nate Kingz is coming

SCORE UPDATE: Syracuse 52, Monmouth 45 with 11:57 remaining second half

Kingz blocked a shot at one end and got a couple layups cutting to the basket at the other, including one off a nice look by Freeman.

EvanMiya’s metrics love Kingz through three games, and he’s been able to have an impact on the game even when his lethal left-handed shot isn’t falling. His plus/minus of 96 on the season is tied for 23rd nationally.

And his shot is coming. He ran off a screen set by Freeman to sink a 3 in rhythm, his second of the night, to get into double figures for the first time this season. Kingz came in averaging six points but has a season-high 15 points.

Monmouth’s hero on this night, Justin Ray, hit back-to-back 3s at the start of the second half, then he hit an off-balanced jumper, plus the foul, to reach a career-high 18 points, doubling his season average.

Anthony answered a bit later with his deepest 3 yet, but his foul shooting continues to be an issue. He’s 2-for-5 tonight, including a 1-for-4 stretch after a technical on Monmouth coach King Rice.

Halftime: Syracuse 36, Monmouth 33

Syracuse has some work to do in the second half to put away Monmouth.

The Hawks’ 3-point shooting (5-for-13; 39%) have kept them in it. The Orange entered the game leading the nation in opponent 3-point percentage at 16%.

Syracuse’s Naithan George and Donnie Freeman hit double figures in the first half. Freeman, in particular, is just a tough matchup for the Hawks. He’s gotten pretty much what he’s wanted in the paint and is 6-for-8 from the free-throw line.

JJ Starling was held to just two points on two shots in the first half, with his first basket coming with 6-and-a-half minutes to play.

Kiyan Anthony’s having a rough go of it, shooting 1-for-7 from the field, and having his shot blocked on a couple occasions late in the half.

Autry T’d up

Syracuse coach Adrian Autry was called for a technical foul with 2:07 remaining in the first half after Sadiq White was called for his third foul on some sort of scrum near the sideline.

It was a bit unclear what exactly happened that led to off-setting technical fouls, but Autry’s technical, plus White’s foul resulted in four made free throws by Justin Ray.

Just as Syracuse appeared to get going.

Before that, Kiyan Anthony used a shot fake and attacked the basket, finishing plus the foul to open up an eight-point lead. Anthony intentionally banged his head twice against the stanchion after the and-one.

SCORE UPDATE: Syracuse 27, Monmouth 26 with 3:41 remaining in first half.

Starling’s first basket came with 6:33 remaining in the half.

Three Orange players (Starling, White and Kingz) have two fouls, but Monmouth’s Rivera-Torres picked up his third foul with 3:41 remaining in the half. That’s likely going to keep the Hawks’ top scorer and rebounder on the bench for a huge stretch of this game.

Monmouth is hanging around. Stefanos Spartalis, a 6-foot-9 freshman from Greece, has made a few of crafty baskets from the low block and paint area.

Syracuse is shooting 3-for-9 from 3, but Monmouth’s turnover (eight) and fouling (11) woes are troublesome.

Syracuse in the bonus midway through the half

SCORE UPDATE: Monmouth 22, Syracuse 20 with 7:13 remaining first half

There have been a lot of whistles.

Monmouth’s seventh team foul came at the 9:24 remaining in the half, putting William Kyle and unorthodox shooting stroke on the line.

Point guard Naithan George has 10 points to pace the Orange, shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from the field, including a pair of 3s.

The Hawks have a 13-4 edge on the glass, propelling them to a slight lead at the under-8 media timeout, but seven turnovers have prevented them from running out to a larger margin.

SCORE UPDATE: Monmouth 15, Syracuse 14 with 11:49 remaining first half

Starling’s second foul comes at 12:03 remaining in the first half with a hand check on French guard Anthony Martinez.

Then, freshman forward Sadiq White picks up his second foul moments later on a putback attempt underneath the basket.

Adrian Autry elects to keep both in the game.

The Hawks have an early 8-3 edge on the glass and have hit 3-of-5 from 3 to keep pace with the Orange midway through the first half.

JJ Starling returns to starting lineup; Monmouth fouls a lot

SCORE UPDATE: Syracuse 9, Monmouth 6 with 15:48 remaining first half

As expected, JJ Starling returns to the starting lineup since exiting in the opening minutes of the season opener Nov. 3 vs. Binghamton.

Nate Kingz lines up a 3. He entered tonight’s game >20% from 3 after shooting 44% from deep a year ago.

Donnie Freeman is putting pressure on the Monmouth

Kiyan Anthony subs in for Starling with 16:26 remaining in the first half.

Monmouth’s leading scorer and rebounder, Jason Rivera-Torres, picks up his second foul with 16:24 remaining. The Hawks have committed five fouls before the first media timeout.

Pregame

The TV folks and ACC office, for some reason, decided on a 9 p.m., tip between Monmouth and Syracuse on Tuesday night.

So, here we are.

Monmouth is no stranger to the dome. You may recall the Hawks gave the Orange a good game into the second half of a 86-71 defeat a few years ago.

Jack Collins, who scored 20 points for the Hawks in their last trip to the JMA Wireless Dome during the 2022-23 season, is now a senior.

Jaret Valencia, a long athletic forward who Syracuse recruited this offseason, took a redshirt that season for the Hawks. He will not be in the dome tonight. He transferred to Wichita State.

Other familiar faces: King Rice, the Hawks’ head coach, is a former North Carolina point guard from Binghamton. His assistant, Brian Reese, is also a former North Carolina standout who was a high school teammate of Adrian Autry at St. Nicholas of Tolentine High School in the Bronx.

Here’s the big-picture heading into Tuesday night’s game:

• Syracuse is No. 38 nationally and seventh in the ACC, according to KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin.
• Syracuse has played the easiest schedule in America, per KenPom.

That, of course, will change in a hurry next week, when the Orange heads to Las Vegas for three games against high-major opponents, starting with No. 2 Houston and No. 24 Kansas.