Syracuse Men’s Basketball beats Youngstown St. in a double overtime thriller

For the third consecutive game in the Dome, Syracuse has gone down to the absolute wire. They beat Youngstown State 104-95 in double overtime. 

Junior guard J.J. Starling put up a career-high 38 points on 14-23 shooting. Coach Autry said he wanted to get the hot hand the ball in the second half.

“We had to make an adjustment there offensively, stop running that stuff just kind of get the ball in the middle of the court and let J.J. go to work,” said head coach Adrian Autry. “When players have that look, as a coach you know it. I thought he delivered and was huge.”

“I was just taking what the defense was giving me,” said Starling. “I was getting to my spots, attacking downhill, and luckily that was able to get me some calls.”

The career-highs did not just end with Starling. Center Eddie Lampkin also notched a personal-best seven assists. He said he notices a big difference transferring from the Big 12 to the ACC.

“They double-teamed me way more,” said Lampkin. “ When I was in the Big 12, they were double-teaming but it’s more one-on-one there. In the Pac-12, kind of a little bit. But I would say here, they’ve been double-teaming so quickly and being able to read the game, that’s all I can ask for.”

“It’s a big reason why we’re still scoring right now, because of Eddie,” Autry said. “Getting some offensive glass, and when they double, getting one or two dump offs. He generates easy points and he’s a big guy even in those handoffs.”

The ‘Cuse will be on four days’ rest before they head down to Brooklyn to take on Texas in the Legends Classic at the Barclays Center. Tip off is slated for 7:00 on Thursday.