Vols Fall 62-60 to Syracuse in ACC/SEC Challenge

(utsports.com)  The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team fell to Syracuse, 62-60, Tuesday night at the JMA Wireless Dome.

Junior forward Jaylen Carey paced all scorers for No. 13 Tennessee (7-2) with a career-high 22 points in the second consecutive ACC/SEC Challenge matchup between the two schools.

The Volunteers missed their first six shots as Syracuse (5-3) scored five of the opening six points, but Carey helped right the ship. He made five of his opening seven field-goal attempts, including logging the team’s first make of the game, to help Tennessee go ahead, 16-15, with 8:15 left in the first half.

The two sides continued to trade baskets the rest of the frame, as the contest stayed within a six-point margin. The Orange took a 32-30 lead into the locker room after a buzzer-beating putback layup by sophomore forward Tyler Betsey, but it was redshirt senior guard Nate Kingz who did most of their damage. He made six of his first seven shots, en route to tallying 19 first-half points.

Early in the second session, Syracuse went on a 10-1 run in 2:47, started with eight straight points, to claim a game-best nine-point advantage, 44-35, with 14:16 to play. Tennessee, however, soon responded with a 10-0 surge in 3:01—it featured six points from Carey to give him 18 at that time—to go in front, 51-50, with 8:38 to play. The Orange, 65 seconds later, snapped a 4:17 scoreless drought with two free throws and then 25 seconds after that ended a 4:42 skid without a basket to take a 54-51 edge at the 7:08 mark.

The Volunteers went back ahead on a corner 3-pointer by Nate Ament with under four-and-a-half minutes to play. Syracuse, though, answered soon thereafter with a 3-pointer by senior guard J.J. Starling. He then hit a jump-shot the next time down the floor to give the Orange a 60-56 lead with 2:05 to go.

Tennessee roared back to level the score at 60, first with a layup by Carey with 1:14 remaining and then with a runner by sophomore guard Bishop Boswell with 38 seconds left. Senior forward William Kyle III put Syracuse ahead by a point by making the second of two free throws with 13.8 ticks to play. The Volunteers missed a shot at the other end and then Syracuse freshman forward Sadiq White Jr., hit a free throw with 0.7 on the timer for the final point of the night.

Carey’s career-best performance came on 10-of-16 field-goal shooting and he also grabbed nine rebounds to co-lead all players. Ament scored 11 points and pulled down six rebounds, while senior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 10 points and a game-high seven assists.

Kingz did not score—or even attempt a shot—in the second half and finished with a team-high 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting for the Orange. Starling had 12 points, while Kyle and White added 10 apiece. Kyle posted a game-best six blocks, while White had a co-game-high nine rebounds and a game-leading three steals.

The Volunteers had a 40-28 advantage in paint points and a 32-9 cushion in bench scoring, but the Orange amassed a 24-10 margin in points off turnovers despite only forcing one more (17) than they committed (16). Syracuse also registered a 9-0 edge in fast-break points.

Tennessee is back in action Saturday at 8 p.m. ET when it squares off with No. 14/15 Illinois at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., live on ESPN.