Despite Hokie's Second Half come back, The Orange holds on to win ACC opener 68-66

Story By: Lauren Foti
Photo courtesy: cuse.com
 

Blacksburg, Va. -- What looked like easy game at the halfway point turned into a thrilling two-point win for Syracuse over ACC opponent Virginia Tech Saturday afternoon in the league opener for both teams.

“We just weren’t as active in the second half, particularly our offense,” SU Coach Jim Boeheim said.

While Syracuse (10-4, 1-0 ACC) had the lead for the majority of the game, the Hokies (8-6, 0-1) weren’t going to go down that easily. Heading into halftime the Orange lead 42-23.  But Virginia Tech opened up the second half on a 21-7 run, putting the Hokies back in the game. They pulled within two points when sophomore guard Devin Wilson hit two free throws to make it 51-49 at the 6:35 mark.

The Orange regained the momentum to extend the two-point lead to 11 at 62-51 with  2:21 left in the game. But that lead was quickly diminished by two long 3-pointers made by the Hokies' senior guard Will Johnston.

Those long 3-pointers were what got Virginia Tech back in the game but it was the shoddy free throw shooting of the Orange that kept them there. With the Hokies fouling to stop the clock, five Orange players took turns missing free throws as they went 6-15 down the stretch.

When sophomore guard Ron Patterson missed two free throws with 4.3 seconds left, it gave Virginia Tech the chance to tie or win the game. Freshman Malik Muller got a three-point shot off from the left corner with Rakeem Christmas flying at him, but it fell short as time expired. The Orange held on for the 68-66 victory.

Cooney, Christmas, and Roberson lead the Orange

Trevor Cooney led the Orange in scoring with 18 points with Christmas adding 17. But Cooney shot just 6-21 from the field (4-13 from 3-point range) and missed three of his five free throws. Christmas was 5-6 from the line and had nine rebounds, just missing another double-double.

But it was sophomore forward Tyler Roberson’s performance that stood out most.

“Tyler had a really big rebounding game,” Boeheim said. “I thought he was a difference maker for us.”

Roberson racked up his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 17 rebounds. This game for Roberson was almost identical to the two-point win over Louisiana Tech, Dec. 14, when he scored 14 points and had 17 rebounds.

“I just go out there and try to get every rebound and good things are happening," Roberson said.

“I’m not going to make any excuses. It’s something I need to be more consistent with.”

Roberson also hit two big free throws after drawing a foul on Virginia Tech’s Satchel Pierce, who fouled out on the play. The points have Syracuse a 55-50 lead with just over five minutes left.

 

Orange on the road again

The next game for the Orange will be Wednesday Jan. 7 at 7:00 p.m. on the road against ACC opponent Georgia Tech, which lost to Notre Dame in double overtime later this afternoon in South Bend.