Syracuse Drops Physical Battle Against #7 Tennessee

The opener of the Maui Invitational marks the first loss of the Adrian Autry era.

Syracuse, N.Y.-- The seventh-ranked Tennessee Volunteers went on a 12-0 run in the final three minutes of regulation to seal a 73-56 victory over Syracuse on Monday in Honolulu. The Orange are handed their first loss of the season in their first true test after wins against New Hampshire, Canisius, and Colgate. Cuse will play Tuesday afternoon in the loser’s bracket against Purdue or Gonzaga.

Cuse struggled from the free-throw line and couldn’t capitalize much offensively off Tennessee turnovers. A physical Tennesee team got Syracuse in foul trouble, resulting in 27 attempts from the free-throw line for the Vols. The Orange led for about 12 minutes in the first half before the Vols second-half surge to hand Syracuse their first loss of the campaign.

Syracuse jumped out to a 19-11 lead with 10:23 remaining in the first half with Benny Williams coming off the bench and igniting SU offensively. Williams netted eight points in 11 minutes during the opening frame, connecting on two three pointers.

UT shot an abysmal 25.9 percent from the field until Tennessee went on a 19-6 run to take a 30-25 lead heading into halftime. PG Judah Mintz had just two points in the first half after sitting the final 12 minutes with two early fouls. Grad transfer Dalton Knecht had 15 points for the Vols, going 5-9 from the field and 3-4 from three.

After going up by 11 early in the second half, Syracuse went on an 8-0 run to make it a 38-35 game. Forwards Chris Bell and Maliq Brown turned six Tennessee turnovers into easy points in the paint. Mintz made it a four-point deficit after hitting a silky pull-up three with seven minutes remaining before UT put the game away.

Cuse went 2-15 from three after starting the game 4-5 from beyond the arc. The shooting woes also translated to the free-throw line for the Orange, shooting 47 percent (8-17). Syracuse forced 16 Volunteer turnovers, well above their season average of nine per game, but only turned it into six points offensively. Tennessee had 18 points off a season-high 15 turnovers by Syracuse.

Chris Bell was Cuse’s leading scorer for the second-straight game, finishing with 16. Bell shot 7-13 from the field and 2-5 from three in 33 minutes of action. Mintz scored six of his 15 points from the charity stripe, missing his first seven field goals before making his final four.

JJ Starling had nine points, four rebounds, and a team-high five assists. Justin Taylor was held scoreless but grabbed the most rebounds for Syracuse with seven.

Josiah-Jordan James and Jonas Aidoo both had double-doubles for Tennessee. James scored 15 points, making it three-straight in double figures along with 12 boards. Aidoo had 12 of his 14 points in the second half. Knecht’s 17 was a game-high as the sharpshooter was limited to 10 minutes down the stretch to due leg cramps.

Tennessee has now won the last three matchups against Syracuse. Most recently, the two programs played in Knoxville in 2002 for the 66-62 UT victory and in 2000 at the Dome for the 83-70 road win.

Syracuse will now play the loser of #2 Purdue versus #11 Gonzaga. Tip-off for Tuesday will also be at 2:30 p.m. EST on ESPN2.