Hofstra Fends Off 'Cuse, Defeats Another ACC Foe

The Syracuse Orange (6-3) opened up the Dome for a cold and snowy midday match-up with the Hofstra Pride (7-4).

Syracuse would score first off of a jumper by senior guard J.J. Starling, who would follow with a three from the left side to give the Orange their first five points of the game.

Hofstra gained their first lead off of a three by freshman guard Preston Edmead that made it 6-5 Pride.

With just under 15 minutes to go in the first half, Hofstra had taken the lead once again, this time at 10-8 off of a dunk by junior forward/center Victory Onuetu.

Starling would knock down a three right out of a break in the action to move the lead back Syracuse's way at 11-10.

At the 13:57 mark of the first half, Starling had already risen to double-figures in points when he connected on a layup that gave the Orange a 13-10 lead.

Inside the 10-minute mark, true freshman guard Kiyan Anthony would make three-straight shots, the first a drive to the left around a defender, the second a three from the left wing, giving Syracuse, and the third a layup, all aiding Syracuse to a four-point lead, 27-23.

Just under five minutes to play in the first half, graduate guard German Poltnikov connected from long range as the shot clock was expiring, tying the game at 29-apiece.

Hofstra junior guard Cruz Davis would tie the game at 34-all off of a layup with 1:41 remaining before halftime.

A turnaround jumper by freshman guard Jaeden Roberts would give the Pride the lead with 41 seconds left, at 36-35.

But Orange true freshman forward Sadiq White, Jr., would have something to say before the break, connecting on a hook shot that gave Syracuse the lead, 37-36, after one half of play.

There were 10 lead changes and four ties in the first half.

Redshirt-senior guard Nate Kingz would make sure Syracuse was the first on the board in the second half as well when he nailed a deep shot from the left wing, giving the Orange a 40-36 lead.

Kingz would connect from the right side for another three two possessions later to make it 43-36 Syracuse.

Then the Pride went on a 21-6 run to gain a 57-49 advantage with 10:31 to play.

The Orange responded with a 6-2 run that brought their deficit to four, down 59-55.

However, the Pride were running a smoother offense throughout the game and they had a response for the Orange, getting ahead of the Orange by eight points, 65-57.

Syracuse did not go away, going on a 9-2 run, getting to within one point thanks to another three-pointer by Kingz, this coming with 2:27 left to play.

With 56.8 seconds remaining, senior forward William Kyle, III, would be fouled... and he would make both, giving the Orange a 68-67 lead.

The Pride would come down the court on their next possession, moving the ball well around the court, with the ball ending up in the hands of Plotnikov who sent a three from the right corner into the net to move Hofstra ahead 70-68 with 31.9 seconds on the game clock.

A questionable call with 15.7 seconds to go was challenged by Syracuse Head Coach Adrian Autry but the officials upheld their call that Starling touched the ball on the inbounds attempt by Hofstra and the ball remained with the Pride.

Then, Hofstra was called for five seconds, resulting in Syracuse getting possession.

Anthony would go to the basket and not get a shot off.

The Pride would grab the ball and the Orange would foul with 1.7 seconds remaining.

Hofstra inbounded the ball and time ran out on Syracuse as Hofstra won their second game this season against an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponent, with a 70-69 victory over the Orange to go with their 80-73 win over the Pittsburgh Panthers, also on the road.

With the loss, the Orange move to 6-4 while the Pride improve to 8-4.

Davis led all players with 22 points, and also had nine assists and three rebounds. Edmead followed with 12 points for the Pride.

Starling had 15 points for the Orange, followed by Kyle with 13, and Kingz and White each with 12.