North Carolina’s final-minute layup hands Syracuse yet another defeat: Final score, recap, photos
Syracuse Orange guard Jaquan Carlos (5) fights his way through the Carolina defense. The Syracuse basketball team takes on the North Carolina Tar Heels at the JMA Wireless Dome on Feb. 15, 2025. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.comdennis nett | dnett@syracuse.com
Syracuse, N.Y. — North Carolina guard Elliot Cadeau blew past the Syracuse defense for a layup with 40 seconds remaining, allowing the Tar Heels to finally exhale and extending a season of misery for Syracuse.
The Orange had trimmed a nine-point lead down to two points and fouled out North Carolina’s two best big men before Cadeau scored on the game’s biggest possession, putting the Tar Heels ahead, 84-80.
Syracuse rushed the ball back down the court and Kyle Cuffe Jr. quickly launched a wayward 3-pointer, ending the Orange’s chances at what would have been the team’s best won of the season. Syracuse was forced to foul and
Syracuse fell to 11-15 (5-10 ACC). The Tar Heels, desperately trying to claw their way into the NCAA tournament picture, improved to 15-11 (8-6).
The teams came into the game with some striking similarities and pressure building on both.
Each team is led by a former veteran assistant who has taken over for a Hall-of-Famer. Both have spent much of the year asking for patience amid discussion about how their programs adapted too slowly to a world in which college athletes can be paid.
Syracuse got 26 points and 11 rebounds from Eddie Lampkin and 22 points (including 20 in the second half) from JJ Starling.
That wasn’t enough, though, thanks to Cadeau and North Carolina freshman Ian Jackson, who had 23 points off the bench for the Tar Heels.
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Final: North Carolina 88, Syracuse 82
9.4: North Carolina at the line up 4. Drake Powell makes both.
25.1: RJ Davis makes both free throws. North Carolina leads by 6.
25.1: Cadeau gets all the way to the rim to make it 4, and Kyle Cuffe’s 3-pointer goes off the rim. Syracuse forced to foul.
:58: Lampkin makes both. Syracuse trails by just 2.
1:15: Syracuse trails 82-78 as it enters the stage of the game where it is forced to press and foul. Elliot Cadeau misses his free throw and Eddie Lampkin draws a fifth foul on Jalen Washington while trying to secure an offensive rebound.
1:45: A steal and layup by JJ Starting give him an old-fashioned 3-point play and results in a fifth foul for Jae’Lyn Withers. Orange trails, 81-76.
3:19: JJ Starling cuts UNC’s lead to 79-73 with a reverse layup. Syracuse gets a stop with its crowd chanting dee-fense, dee-fense. But Starling tries to do too much on a drive and his attempted kick-out is nabbed by Ian Jackson and taken for a layup. North Carolina leads 81-73.
4:40: RJ Davis puts Syracuse back on the ropes with a 3-pointer. North Carolina’s lead is back to 10 points.
5:18: Elliot Cadeau hits a jumper for the Tar Heels and a moving screen call goes against the Orange. UNC lead is 75-68.
6:09: Syracuse forces a turnover from RJ Davis. Then Eddie Lampkin draws a foul on the other end. He makes both. Syracuse trails 73-68.
7:26: And there’s another potential and-1 for Withers. He makes it. Tar Heels’ lead is back to 9.
7:45: Withers makes his free throw to push UNC’s lead to 6.
7:45: Jae’Lyn Withers will have a chance to finish an old-fashioned 3-point play after the timeout after a drive and dish layup. Tar Heels lead 69-64.
Ian Jackson has 20 points to lead North Carolina. Eddie Lampkin leads the Orange with 18.
8:01: Lampkin makes two free throws. Withers gets a basket on the other end. UNC keeping its lead at 3.
8:34: Call stands on the floor as a foul. It wasn’t shooting, which I’m a little surprised by.
8:34: Ian Jackson makes a corner 3-pointer to break the tie. Officials going to replay on the other end as Eddie Lampkin was fouled just before the shot-clock expired (I think, and that was the ruling on the floor).
9:47: RJ Davis makes a pair of free throws. Eddie Lampkin makes a dunk. All tied up at 62-all.
10:42: Starling makes both. It’s a 3-pint game.
10:42: JJ Starling has been in attack-mode throughout the second half. He’s up to 10 points and will have a pair of free throws when the game comes back from a break. Syracuse trails UNC, 60-55. Starling has eight points and three assists to far in the second half.
12:11: Syracuse had it down to 5. JJ Starling missed an open transition 3. The Orange got a stop anyway and RJ Davis’ second-chance 3-pointer bounces high off the rim and rolls in to make it an 8-point deficit. That feels like a key moment.
14:15: JJ Starling makes a pair of free throws and Syracuse is within 57-50. Chris Bell comes on for Lucas Taylor.
15:02: Drake Powell hits a 3-pointer and its back to 10 for UNC. Then back down to 8 on an Eddie Lampkin dunk.
15:35: Lampkin makes one and UNC’s lead is down to 7.
15:35: Tyus Battle shown on the video board in attendance at the JMA Dome.
15:35: Syracuse fighting back a little bit to open the second half. Eddie Lampkin will have two free throws after the break. Orange still trail 53-45.
16:27: Lucas Taylor with a nice little reverse layup to get Syracuse within 53-45.
17:26: North Carolina leads 52-41 as both teams start the second half scoring effectively.
19:45: Syracuse opens the second half with a driving bucket by JJ Starling but North Carolina scores its own easy bucket on an alley-oop.
Eddie Lampkin with a solid first half for the Orange, finishing with 9 points and 4 rebounds. Very good effort also from Lucas Taylor who had 8. Tar Heels (and foul trouble) have limited JJ Starling to 10 minutes and two shots.
North Carolina freshman Ian Jackson has been the most productive player on the floor with 16 points and two rebounds.
Halftime: North Carolina 42, Syracuse 34
1:25: Eddie Lampkin with an old-fashioned 3-point play to get it down to 39-31.
1:34: Teams have traded baskets over the last stretch. Tar Heels lead 39-28.
3:39: JJ Starling makes a pair of free throws to get the Orange back under single-digits.
3:39: Ian Jackson hits a step-back 3 to make it a 10-point lead for the Tar Heels.
4:57: Syracuse gets a timeout as RJ Davis puts back his own miss. The Orange trails 28-19.
6:23: Jae’Lyn Withers pushes it back up to 5 for the Tar Heels with a basket in the paint.
7:25: Adrian Autry draws up an in-bounds to get an open 3 for Chris Bell. He makes it to tie the game at 19. But Ian Jackson unties it with his own 3.
8:11: Syracuse with a 4-0 run on a pair of baskets by Majstrorovic but UNC responds with a dunk and a run-out following a blocked JaQuan Carlos layup. Tar Heels miss both free throws and the crowd roars for free chicken sandwiches. A Davis tip-in makes it 17-16.
11:33: Naheem McLeod takes the ball to the rim for a layup as Starling takes a break. He goaltends on the other end. UNC leads 15-10.
11:40: Five-point spurt for UNC after Ian Jackson steals the ball from Chris Bell and goes for a dunk, followed by a 3-pointer by UNC’s Jalen Washington.
13:49: Lampkin ties it at 8 with a drive and a bucket.
14:15: Ian Jackson hits an open 3 off penetration. Lampkin hits a little tear drop in the lane. Tar Heels lead 8-6. Syracuse brings in Majstrorovic for Davis.
15:30: Syracuse will bring in JaQuan Carlos and Chris Bell for Taylor and Moore. Autry rolling the dice on Starling early. Jalen Washington makes one of his two free throws.
15:52: Both teams looking very rough on offense early. Lots of missed layups for the Tar Heels. Jyare Davis ties it at 4. JJ Starting commits his second foul (uh oh) breaking up a dunk just before we go to break. North Carolina will bring in Ian Jackson and Drake Powell after the break.
17:16: Cadeau draws a foul on JJ Starling and makes a pair of free throws, putting UNC ahead 4-2.
17:37: North Carolina scores first on a layup by Elliot Cadeau. Syracuse ties it on a layup by Eddie Lampkin. 2-all.
19:41: Syracuse wins the tip and goes to Eddie Lampkin immediately. He’s doubled and commits a turnover. Off we go.
The starting lineups are currently being announced and we’re set to get started momentarily.
The SEC game ahead of this is running long, so we’re told this one will start on ESPNnews.
National anthem amount to start here.
Starting lineup for Syracuse: Starling, Taylor, Moore, Davis, Lampkin
Starting lineup for North Carolina: Cadeau, Davis, Trimble, Withers, Lubin
This game between traditional powerhouse programs matches a pair of teams in similarly distressing situations.
Both have former assistant coaches in charge who are scuffling after following head coaching legends, a reality that is testing the patience of their fanbases. Both programs are asking for time to fix themselves after belatedly adapting to the changing realities of college sports.
Syracuse (11-14, 5-9 ACC) hired general manager Alex Kline after this year’s roster was nearly finalized.
North Carolina (14-11, 7-6) coach Hubert Davis, in the middle of his fourth year as head coach, is even further behind only announcing recently that the Tar Heels will be bringing hiring one.
North Carolina does have a wealth of talented guards this season, led by RJ Davis, but the Tar Heels lack the customary size that routinely allowed it to dominate under Roy Williams.
North Carolina has just one player who sees substantial time who is taller than 6-foot-10, meaning the best path to victory for the Orange is likely a potential mismatch for SU center Eddie Lampkin.
Lampkin is working off back-to-back double-doubles, including a line of 22 points, 13 rebounds and six assists at Miami.
Both teams are among the worst in the country at forcing turnovers.
Contact Chris Carlson anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-382-7932
Syracuse Orange center Eddie Lampkin Jr. (44) works on getting in the lane on North Carolina Tar Heels forward Ven-Allen Lubin (22). The Syracuse basketball team takes on the North Carolina Tar Heels at the JMA Wireless Dome on Feb. 15 2025. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.comdennis nett | dnett@syracuse.com
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Instant Analysis: UNC Wins at Syracuse, Remedies Road Woes
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — While it wasn’t a victory that can serve as a cure-all for the ills of this lost season, North Carolina was able to remedy some road woes on Saturday night.
The Tar Heels never trailed and defeated Syracuse 88-82 in ACC basketball at JMA Wireless Dome, putting a stop to their four-game losing skid on the road behind suddenly strong performances from Ian Jackson and Jae’Lyn Withers.
The freshman Jackson sank five 3-pointers and delivered 23 points to shake out of a four-week slump. And the sixth-year senior Withers emerged from seemingly nowhere, supplying 19 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots to finish with his highest scoring output in two seasons at UNC. Withers hadn’t reached double-digit scoring in months, since the Nov. 26 loss to Auburn in the Maui Invitational.
Carolina (15-11 overall, 8-6 ACC) held an 11-point lead early in the second half and was ahead 78-68 with less than four minutes remaining in the game, before Syracuse rallied within 82-80 with 58 seconds left. The Tar Heels answered on Elliot Cadeau’s driving left-handed layup with 40.3 seconds to go, and held on from there.
RJ Davis added 16 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals, as UNC won on the road for the first time since Jan. 11. The Tar Heels arrived here in these wintry parts, with lake-effect snow covering the region, having lost five of their previous seven games. UNC connected on 13-for-28 shooting from 3-point range, equaling the team’s most makes in a game this season. The Tar Heels also hit 13 successful 3-pointers way back on Nov. 4, the night of their season opener.
Eddie Lampkin’s 26 points and 11 rebounds topped struggling Syracuse (11-15, 5-10), which suffered its sixth loss in the last eight games. J.J. Starling scored 13 of his 22 points for the Orange during a burst in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Starling, the fourth-leading scorer in the ACC, chipped in six rebounds and four assists. He shot 6-for-16 from the field.
Ian Jackson’s re-emergence fuels Tar Heels in first half
Carolina led 42-34 by halftime, with Ian Jackson experiencing a re-awakening. The freshman guard pumped in 16 first-half points here on Saturday, more than he had scored across the previous thee games combined (at Duke, Pittsburgh, at Clemson).
Jackson hadn’t made a shot from the field since Feb. 1 at Duke, but he promptly sank 6-for-9 from the field in the first half against Syracuse, including 4-for-6 from 3-point range. The Tar Heels connected on 7-for-15 from beyond the arc during the first half.
UNC never trailed in the first half, and built a pair of 11-point leads in the last 3½ minutes prior to halftime. RJ Davis hadn’t scored until he rebounded his own missed 3-pointer for a put-back, capping a 9-0 run that moved the Tar Heels ahead 28-19 with 4:57 remaining in the half. Then, Jackson nailed his third 3-pointer, stepping back and crossing up Syracuse defender Jaquan Carlos.
Meanwhile, Carolina benefited from Syracuse standout J.J. Starling’s particularly quiet first half. He picked up two fouls during the opening 4½ minutes of the game, and entered the intermission break just 0-for-2 from the field with two points on free throws. Starling entered Saturday night ranked fourth in the ACC in scoring at 18.6 points per game.
Next on the schedule
UNC plays four of its final six regular-season games at home, starting with Wednesday night’s matchup against visiting NC State (7 p.m., ESPN). The Tar Heels can sweep the regular-season series with the rival Wolfpack. Five weeks ago, Carolina escaped with a 63-61 road victory after Jalen Washington delivered the tie-breaking dunk with 25 seconds remaining, and then swatted away NC State guard Jayden Taylor’s shot in the last three seconds to clinch the outcome at the Lenovo Center.
NC State (10-15, 3-11) snapped a nine-game losing skid on Saturday by beating Boston College, avoiding what would’ve become the longest losing streak in program history. The Wolfpack began the weekend at the bottom of the ACC standings in a three-way tie for last place. UNC leads the all-time series 167-81 against NC State, including 82-23 in overall home games and 31-7 at the Smith Center. The Tar Heels have dominated the rivalry for some time, winning 32 of the last 39 meetings.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — North Carolina picked up an 88-82 road win against Syracuse on Saturday thanks to a pair of reviving performances.
UNC (15-11, 8-6 ACC) received a promising first-half contribution from Ian Jackson in his home state. He scored 16 of his 23 points on the night and made four of his five 3-pointers in the opening half inside the JMA Wireless Dome. He added four rebounds, a steal and a block to his statline. Jackson had been struggling, averaging just 7.4 points per game in his last seven outings, but his efforts on Saturday got him back on track.
Jae’Lyn Withers also stepped up for North Carolina, supplying his UNC-high 19 points, six rebounds and three blocks in 24 minutes. Withers had scored 20 points total in his previous six appearances. Withers almost didn’t play in Saturday’s game as he got poked in his right eye in practice by Cade Tyson on an inbounds pass.
The Tar Heels led by as many 11 points in the second half on Saturday before Syracuse came back to tie the game with just over 10 minutes left. They later built up a 10-point lead with 4:47 to go, and the Orange got within two with just over a minute remaining. But UNC held on after an Elliot Cadeau layup pushed the lead to four and some late free throws from RJ Davis and Drake Powell went down.
UNC’s win avenged last season’s loss from a year and two days ago in the same place, when the then-No. 7 Tar Heels lost to an unranked Orange squad 86-79. Syracuse fans stormed the court after last year’s victory, and the loss for UNC served as its last of the regular season.
Read and watch what Hubert Davis had to say following the game…
“Yeah, I’m gonna poke him in the eye on Monday. That’s on the practice plan, that’s the first thing I’m gonna do: throw a ball at his other eye.”
That’s just the formula now?
“I guess so.
“Yeah, he got poked in the eye pretty significantly. There was some doubt that he was going to play. We came into shoot around this morning. Wanted to see if he could put on glasses. Didn’t like the glasses, but he felt like the swelling, his vision was good and there was just no hesitation. He wanted to be out there. From an offensive standpoint, he hit threes, he finished around the basket, rebounded the basketball. That was huge. But I think the biggest impact for him is the size that we had at the four, where we didn’t have to double team the four, either. Because Syracuse, they can throw a ball and post to a number of guys. And so without him, they were going to establish (Jyare) Davis down low on the post. J-Wit is our biggest four. His ability on the defensive end to be able to guard one-on-one was huge.”
“I thought he brought great, positive energy on both ends of the floor, just impactful plays. He has tremendous size and athleticism, and I thought he consistently made winning plays tonight on both ends of the floor. You know, it’s interesting. Sometimes, when you have an injury, it kind of takes you away. It takes you away from focusing on things that you normally focus on because you have an injury, and it kind of gets you to focus on the right things. The two years that he’s been here, that was the best game that J-Wit has ever played, and we needed all of it tonight.”
“I wasn’t happy with them coming back, because that’s something that we’ve struggled with all season, is getting the lead, whether it’s in the first or second half, and then letting a team come back. Whether it’s turnovers, offensive rebounds. Tonight, it was a combination of both, plus putting them on the free throw line. But I was really happy with the response of our group. Being on the road, (Syracuse) cutting it to two, one-possession game and being able to execute and get stops and extend the lead was big time from our group. I was really proud.”
“They’re very long, they’re very athletic. It’s difficult to get to the rim. Wanted to put them in a number of ball screens, as we felt, for our group, that’s our strength, especially in the half court, being able to create shots. We wanted to get out in transition, which was good. And for us, when we’re able to get to the free throw line, get out in transition, and then we hit 13 threes, that helps. That’s an area that we’ve struggled with pretty much all season, especially in conference. And to get 13 threes on the road here tonight, again, we needed all of it.”
“I think we were able to get out in transition. I think our halfcourt sets allowed us to get downhill and draw two defenders and allowed us to be able to find Ian and other people out there on the perimeter. And also, coming into this game, we weren’t shooting threes very well, so they were protecting the paint, trying to keep (us from) getting to the basket. Ian hit his first three, then he got out in transition, and that really got him going. And I think it also got him going that he’s back here in New York. I know it’s a long way away from the Bronx. And his best friend and teammate, Elijah Moore, on the other end. So I know that he was really excited about playing this game.”
“We knew they were going to play some zone, and we got exactly what we wanted. We always want to attack the basket through post or penetration, even against a zone. We want to get the ball in the middle and not settle for threes. I thought we did a good job scoring in that midrange, getting to the basket and also knocking down threes. Our ball movement, shot fakes, pass fakes, I thought, were really good in the second half. At the beginning of the second half, that’s where we were very stagnant and struggled against that zone, and then we started to find some rhythm and find some good shots in there, and that gave us confidence to be able to execute against their zone.”
“One thing that helped, our ability to attack the basket got him in foul trouble in the first half. He really only was available for one half. I thought that was huge horse. I think it was within the first timeout, he already had two fouls. I don’t know how you stop him getting to the basket. He’s big, he’s quick, he’s athletic. He can score with contact. He can draw fouls and get to the free throw line.
“He’s one of the better players, not only in our conference, but in the country. You can’t stop him. You’re just hoping that you can defend them without fouling and not put him on a free throw line.”
“I told the whole group I wanted them to play fast and free, but not cool and casual. Ian and I met every day this week.We talked about the adjustments that teams have made against him defensively, and now it’s time for him to make an adjustment. Also talked to him about that he’s a basketball player, and there’s more ways that he can impact winning outside of just scoring the basketball. There’s defending, rebounding, taking care of the basketball, all those different things. And so I challenged him to make winning plays in other areas, not just scoring. But obviously, when you have Ian going alongside RJ, when you throw in J-Wit, that’s that second and third score that we like to have every game.”
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The Tar Heels never trail and defeat the Orange 88-82 to pick up their first victory on the road since Jan. 11.
Here’s what the North Carolina head coach had to say after the Tar Heels’ victory inside the JMA Wireless Dome.
JAE’LYN WITHERS ALMOST DIDN’T PLAY TODAY AFTER GETTING POKED IN THE EYE, BUT HE SCORED A UNC-HIGH 19 POINTS FOR YOU GUYS…
THIS WAS THE MOST WITHERS HAS PLAYED IN A WHILE. WHAT WAS DIFFERENT ABOUT HIS ENERGY VS. SYRACUSE?
YOU ALL LED BY 11 EARLY IN THE SECOND HALF, BUT SYRACUSE TIED IT UP. YOU LATER LED BY 10 IN THE BEFORE SYRACUSE CUT IT TO TWO. WHAT DID YOU MAKE OF THE TEAM’S ABILITY TO FINISH OUT THE GAME WITH A WIN?
WHAT AREAS OF SYRACUSE’S DEFENSE DID YOU LOOK TO EXPLOIT?
IAN JACKSON GOT BACK TO SCORING THIS GAME. WHAT DID YOU THINK ALLOWED YOU GUYS TO GET HIM HIS SHOTS?
SYRACUSE WENT TO THE ZONE IN THE SECOND HALF, HOW WELL DO YOU FEEL YOU GUYS ADJUSTED TO IT?
YOU GUYS MADE THINGS DIFFICULT ON JJ STARLING, WHAT DID YOU TRY TO DO ON HIM DEFENSIVELY?
WHAT WERE SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS YOU’VE HAD WITH IAN IN THE LAST FEW DAYS? HE SEEMED LIKE HE PLAYED MORE FAST AND FREE.
Where to Watch: SU vs. North Carolina
WSYR
by: Dave Longley
Posted: Feb 15, 2025 / 08:00 AM EST
Updated: Feb 14, 2025 / 04:51 PM EST
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — The next game for the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team is Saturday evening when the North Carolina Tarheels come to the JMA Wireless Dome.
Tip time is 6 p.m. in the Dome.
If you don’t have a ticket to the game it will be shown on ESPN.
That station can be found in the following locations:
The game will also be on the radio on TK 99/105 FM.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
