While the game didn’t mean much (Syracuse had already learned its seeding fate about 30 minutes before tip), SU tried to pick up some late season momentum in its regular season finale against Virginia Saturday. And they did so in dominant fashion, cruising past Virginia xx-xx in one of the best SU performances of the season.
For one of the first times this season, Syracuse looked dominant out of the gate. The Orange were carried early on by Eddie Lampkin, who reached 10 points in just the first nine minutes.
It was aided by some pretty bad shooting from UVA. The Cavaliers hit on one of their first six shots. Soon enough, SU had a 20-10 lead just 10 minutes into the game.
The only problem for the Orange early on was just UVA forward Jacob Cofie. The Seattle native was up to eight points by the first half under-eight media timeout. His season average? Under seven.
That didn’t seem to matter much to SU though. The Orange held the momentum almost wire-to-wire in the first half. With Lapmkin on the bench, SU resorted to other scoring options, and the diversified offense worked well.
Lampkin’s fellow forward Jyáre Davis didn’t have that shabby of a half himself. A fadeaway jumper with 90 seconds left put the Delaware transfer into double figures. But the biggest surprise was six of those 10 points came off the three ball.
At the half, Syracuse held a commanding 43-26 lead, with Lampkin’s 14 points leading the way to go along with 10 from Davis.
All year through, SU’s has seemed to slip up out of the break. Shockingly, that wasn’t the case today. While Virginia got more consistent on the offensive side of things, Syracuse’s offense kept chugging along. The only real concern for SU? Barely any production from JJ Starling. But that barely mattered today.
While Starling lacked some flair, Lucas Taylor made up for it. By the under 14 media timeout, the sharpshooter was up to 13 points. And his efficiency numbers were up there with the best Syracuse has seen this season. Taylor hit three of his first five three, and five of his first seven shots in total.
A revamped defense shined for the Orange throughout the game. After being slapped around on the defensive side of things all year long, Virginia actually had to work for shots and it paid off big time for the Ornage.
A couple of buckets brought UVA back within 15 with under 11 minutes to play. But Jaquan Carlos, who has had a knack for clutch shots recently, responded with a big corner three to put SU back up 62-45. A few possessions later, a Lampkin layup through three defenders again helped kill some Virginia momentum.
As time lapsed down, SU showed great situational awareness and slowed the game down a ton, killing clock and finding some great shots (an impressive corner three from Taylor and an over the shoulder feed from Lampkin to highlight).
Did the Orange save the best for last? It’s quite possible. The final few minutes of play closed out a rather dominant win for the Orange. Even the bench got in for the final minute of play. Anthony Clayton scored his first points since his sophomore year.
Eddie Lapmkin broke through for yet another double double, finishing with 25 and 10. Jyáre Davis and Lucas Taylor both added 15 for the Orange. For the Cavaliers, 13 points from Jacob Cofie led the way, with Dai Dai Ames adding 10.
A much needed win for the Orange, who now enter the ACC Tournament with some positive energy. The Orange begin play on Tuesday. Their first round opponent? 11 seed Florida State. Tipoff is set for 7 from Charlotte on ACC Network.
