Syracuse basketball rallies late but comes up short vs. Houston: Final score, recap, photos

Syracuse, N.Y. — The Syracuse basketball team takes on the No. 3 Houston Cougars at 6 p.m., Monday at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The game will air on TNT.

See in-game team and individual stats here.

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

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Final: Houston 78, Syracuse 74

Milos Uzan hit four free throws down the stretch after a couple of crucial fouls on Naithan George in the overtime period to give the Cougars a hard-fought win on Day 1 of the Players Era Festival.

Syracuse (4-1) went blow for blow with one of the top-ranked teams in college basketball, storming back from 11 down in the final minutes to force overtime.

All without sophomore forward Donnie Freeman.

And yet, there will be a tinge of remorse on this night: Syracuse finished a ghastly 12-for-29 from the free-throw line, a box-score line that can easily be picked out as the reason SU came up short of a stunning win.

On the other hand, the Orange had a look at the end of regulation and earned an extra five minutes against the Cougars despite the woeful showing at the line.

That’s a good a sign as any that the Orange could be poised to make some noise out here in Vegas, let alone when ACC play gets underway.

SCORE UPDATE: Houston 76, Syracuse 74 with 34.3 seconds remaining in overtime.

Emanuel Sharp stopped on a dime, spun and hit a fadeaway to give the Cougars a 71-69 lead.

Betsey missed a short jumper at the other end, then Sharp hits 3 more. He’s got the last five in overtime for the Cougars.

JJ Starling had a full head of steam on the break but turns it over after trying to save the possession on the end line.

JoJo Tugler missed a short one-hander, then picked up his fifth foul with 1:05 remaining in overtime, sending Kyle to the free throw line.

Syracuse is 12-for-29 from the line, yet still trails by just two.

End of regulation: Syracuse 67, Houston 67

Syracuse had a shot to win it on the final possession, but JoJo Tugler blocked Williams Kyle’s shot under the basket as time expired.

The Orange forced another deep 3 with an expiring shot clock, as Houston’s offense has gone completely stagnant.

Syracuse rallying late to try to stun Houston

SCORE UPDATE: Syracuse 67, Houston 67 with 54.6 seconds remaining in second half

Syracuse has used an 11-0 spurt to knot the score in the final minute.

JJ Starling finished a Kingz-led break with an and-one with 2:29 remaining before Betsey comes soaring in to tap in the missed free throw to cut the Cougars’ lead to five.

Then, George and Kyle trapped Uzan right in front of the Houston bench, causing Uzan to lose the ball out of bounds. A coach’s challenge by Adrian Autry with 2:07 remaining for a key possession sends the officials to the replay monitor.

The call on the floor was Houston ball. Video evidence must conclusively overturn the call. The call on the floor stands. SU forces a desperation heave and a shot-clock violation with 1:54 to play.

Kyle gets an open path to the basket and an easy dunk to cut the lead to 67-64; Kyle then grabs a huge defensive rebound, and Betsey drills a 3 with 54.6 remaining to tie the game.

Kyle has 11 points and six rebounds, and has answered the bell against a big, physical Cougar frontline.

SCORE UPDATE: Houston 65, Syracuse 56 with 3:06 remaining in second half

Just when it looks like Houston is primed to separate, Emanuel Sharp, Houston’s battle-tested veteran, drills a wing 3 near the end of the shot clock.

After a defensive stop, William Kyle commits an offensive foul, and the Cougars get a put-back layup to stretch the lead to 11, its largest of the game.

Syracuse is 1-for-8 from 3 in the second half. It really struggles to score in the half court and hasn’t made a field goal in close to 6 minutes.

Sadiq White misses badly on the 1-and-1. Adrian Autry just lowered his head after that attempt.

If Syracuse loses this game, it will bemoan the free-throw shooting

SCORE UPDATE: Houston 54, Syracuse 49 with 11:12 remaining in second half

Syracuse has gone blow for blow with one of the top-ranked team in college basketball, but there will be much hand-wringing over the poor free throw shooting.

The Orange, at this point, is 10-for-24 from the line. Anthony is 4-for-9; Starling is 0-for-2; Kyle is 3-for-7.

Chris Cenac Jr. has gotten involved in the game. He steps out and hits a 3, crashes the glass and gets a three-point play to give Houston a 47-44 lead, then gets an easy dunk on the fast-break. He’s got Houston’s last eight points.

Milos Uzan banks in a desperation 3 with the shot clock winding down.

SCORE UPDATE: Syracuse 43, Houston 41, with 15:39 remaining in second half

William Kyle opens the second half with a rim-rocking dunk over Tugler, who was limited by two first-half fouls. Tugler committed his third foul with 17:46 remaining pushing off Kyle while working around the 15-foot line.

Naithan George has had a rough one tonight. A pass slipped out of his hand at midcourt for a over-and-back; George also lost control attacking the basket in transition. He’s got four turnovers to just one assist.

But he keeps coming.

George took the dribble-handoff and drove to the basket for an uncontested layup with Tugler playing with three fouls.

George then buried a 3 to give the Orange the lead at the under-16 media timeout.

Halftime: Houston 37, Syracuse 34

Syracuse is in a heavyweight fight with one of the college basketball’s rugged squads.

Naithan George left a running 3 from the top of the key short off the iron, but given the injury to sophomore forward Donnie Freeman, SU is hanging in there.

It’s hanging in there because of its bench, namely Tyler Betsey (11 points) and Kiyan Anthony (nine points), and its defense. The Orange has matched Houston’s intensity for large stretches of this game, forcing six turnovers and getting a couple easy transition baskets.

The free throw shooting remains an issue. SU is a gaudy 8-for-18 from the line, throwing away freebies with a tight-knit margin.

Houston freshman guard Kingston Flemings has been up and down for the Cougars but started settling in late in the first half. He’s 3-for-6 with nine points.

The Cougars’ other talented freshman, Chris Cenac Jr., a projected NBA lottery pick, was held scoreless in 11 minutes and took one shot.

Houston surges, but Orange keeps it close

SCORE UPDATE: Houston 31, Syracuse 28 with 3:13 remaining first half

Houston briefly grabbed the lead behind an 11-0 run.

Then Kingz worked off the screen by Kyle to drain a 3, while an off-ball foul on Chris Cenac on Kyle sent Kyle to the line for a pair of free throws. That turned into a five-point possession for the Orange.

Since then, SU has gone a little cold from the field. Starling, George and Anthony all missed open perimeter looks.

George, White and Betsey all have two fouls, which looms as a potential second-half storyline given the intensity and physicality of this game.

SCORE UPDATE: Syracuse 23, Houston 20, with 7:48 remaining first half

Kiyan Anthony continues to be a difference-maker for the Orange.

He deflected a Kingston Flemings pass in the backcourt trapping with Starling that resulted in a quick turnover and dunk.

Anthony then handled the Houston trap and found Betsey for another 3.

He’s got Carmelo and La La sitting courtside in Vegas.

But Houston, as expected, isn’t going away.

Milos Uzan goes right at Kyle for a layup and the Cougars have closed within three. Uzan has eight in the half.

Then, Tugler creeps in from behind to meet White at the rim and turn away a dunk.

Syracuse is playing fearless and Betsey provides a spark

SCORE UPDATE: Syracuse 17, Houston 12, with 11:08 remaining

Naithan George asserted himself early in this one, but its the Orange defense, physicality and perimeter shooting that has given Adrian Autry’s team a spark.

Tyler Betsey has drained two 3s off the bench, then the Cincinnati got into the lane and earned a pair of free throws at the under-12 media timeout.

Syracuse is playing fearless.

George dribbled into the teeth of the defense and had the ball taken away but came back to hit a 3 to atone for the turnover. Then George got to the foul line (making 1-for-2).

JJ Starling opened the game with an open corner 3, and William Kyle threw a lob to Sadiq White to give the Orange a 5-4 lead.

Between all that, these teams have gotten after it defensively.

JoJo Tugler, the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year last season, blocked shots by George, Starling and Kingz in the first three minutes of the game.

Pregame

Syracuse tips off the first of three games in the Players Era Festival on Monday against last year’s NCAA runner-up.

Last time these two met came in the Sweet 16 round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, SU’s most recent NCAAT appearance.

Houston is once again a popular Final Four pick, and Syracuse has an ever stiffer test on its hands playing without star forward Donnie Freeman.

The sophomore leads SU with 17.8 points per game and is second on the team with 5.3 rebounds per game. He packs an inside-out game and tantalizing length that make him among the team’s most indispensable players.

With Freeman out, SU elevates freshman Sadiq White to the starting lineup, and Cincinnati transfer Tyler Betsey is available to suit up after missing the team’s previous game against Monmouth.

Houston represents a quantum leap in competition compared to SU’s first four opponents. The Cougars are regarded as one of the country’s top defensive and rebounding teams. They play at such a methodical, controlled pace and rarely give up any easy looks.

Guards Naithan George, JJ Starling and Nate Kingz will likely have to play well for SU to hang within the 14.5-point spread, let alone scalp the Cougars to make a national statement.