SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Notre Dame men’s basketball team (11-11, 2-7) fell 72-86 to the Syracuse Orange (13-9, 4-5) in the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday evening.
The Irish finished the night shooting 49.1 percent on 26-53 shooting from the floor and 27.3 percent from three as they went 6-22 from behind the arc, with just two made threes (2-10) in the second half.
The Orange shot 10 percent above their season average as they shot 57.1 percent, going 32-56 from the floor and 40 percent from three. Syracuse, who averages seven threes a game, knocked down 10 triples on 10-25 shooting from deep.
Jalen Haralson finished with a career-high performance of 26 points, with 19 points coming in the second half on 6-7 shooting. He was 9-12 from the floor on the night and went 8-11 from the charity stripe. The freshman has now scored 76 points over the last four games (Syracuse, Virginia, Boston College, North Carolina).
He was followed by Braeden Shrewsberry, who finished with 17 points on 6-12 shooting from the floor as he knocked down three triples for the Irish.
Donnie Freeman, who leads the Orange with 19.2 points per game, was held to just seven points on the night. The hot hand belonged to the duo of JJ Starling and Nate Kingz, who combined for 49 points for Syracuse.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Shot-for-shot, the Irish and Orange swapped baskets to start the game, with Syracuse ahead 8-10 at the first media timeout. Three different Irish and four different Orange had recorded a bucket at this point.
Syracuse earned separation via a pivotal 15-4 scoring stretch, building a 23-12 lead at the 9:34 mark. JJ Starling scored eight points during this run, which included four Syracuse three-pointers.
Soon after, Notre Dame began to find a rhythm, but both sides were trading baskets yet again. The Irish tried to chip away as a Shrewsberry three was followed by a massive Haralson dunk to cut it to 8 points.
The Blue & Gold faced a deficit as large as 13 with 5:07 remaining and cut it to as few as seven at 1:06, but the Irish ultimately trailed by nine, 31-40, at halftime.
Shrewsberry led Notre Dame with nine points on 3-4 shooting from behind the arc. He was followed by Haralson, who chipped in seven points in the first half on 3-5 shooting from the floor.
Notre Dame made 5 of its last 8 from the field to finish 12-26 (46.2%). Syracuse finished a hot 16-26 (61.5%), which included 6-12 from three. Starling didn’t miss a shot in the first half, pouring in 17 points on 7-7 shooting.
With 13 minutes left, a Certa three-pointer would cut the deficit to eight points, but an Irish technical led to a 5-point Syracuse swing. Soon after, a Syracuse three would give them a 14-point lead (46-60).
Haralson was doing his part to spur the offense and keep the Irish in it, recording a stretch in which he scored seven straight points.
Another Certa triple brought the Irish within six for the first time since the 11:13 mark of the first half, making it a 60-66 ballgame. Yet the wave of momentum was quickly seized by the Orange on the ensuing possession.
An Orange three at the shot clock buzzer sparked a 9-0 run over a 1:40 stretch, taking it from a six-point game to a 15-point deficit for the Irish with just 4:51 remaining.
The Irish responded with an 8-2 run to bring it within single digits at 68-77 at 2:28, but another offensive surge from Syracuse led to a 9-2 Orange run to make it 70-86. One last layup from MacLellan would close it out as the Irish fell 72-86 on the road.
UP NEXT
The Irish will remain on the road but make the short trek south to Louisville on Wednesday, Feb. 4. That match will tip off at 7 p.m. on either ESPN2/U.
– ND –