Syracuse basketball had to battle many adversities in Wednesday’s game against the California Golden Bears.
Not only did the Orange have to play a double overtime game, but technical difficulties at JMA Wireless Dome added another level of adversity the team had to troubleshoot.
For the duration of one and a half overtimes, the game continued without the scoreboard functioning. With 2:11 left in the first overtime, the lights in JMA flickered out, and led to the scoreboards completely shutting off. The only thing that the players could visually see during this time was the game and shot clock.
Head coach for the Golden Bears, Mark Madsen, said the referees asked both coaches if they wanted to finish out the game while the stadium was on auxiliary power. He said he’s never been in a situation where the power has gone out, but credits the referees’ professionalism and JMA Wireless Dome’s staff and facility for being able to still function.
Despite this burden, and through 28 lead changes and 14 ties, the Orange were able to pull out a win 107-100.
“At one point, they were saying keep your guys warm, it’s going to be a while,” head coach Adrian Autry said. “But I’m glad we didn’t have to wait and not mess up the rhythm of the game.”
Syracuse basketball’s defense allowed them to stay in the game to give them a chance to win. With under 15 seconds left, J.J. Starling committed a turnover with the game tied to give the Golden Bears an opportunity to win.
Starling went head-to-head with the Golden Bears’ leading scorer, Dai Dai Ames, on an island with the game at stake. He forced Ames to take a difficult shot. Ames missed, and overtime was upon us.
‘Cuse star Donnie Freeman was quiet for most of the game, but ended with 16 points and 6 rebounds in his late-game efforts in overtime. The Golden Bears had an effective plan for Freeman, as they sent double teams his way when he went into the post.
“I thought Donnie did an unbelievable job [of staying engaged],” Autry said. “His first 30 minutes was not good, but he was cheering for his teammates…He came up big for us in certain situations and kept himself going that way just by being engaged. I thought he had a very, very good reset.”
Even though Freeman wasn’t his best for the entire night, Nate Kingz and Starling had the hot hand. Kingz finished with a game high of 27 points, and Starling ended with 21 points and a game high of 4 steals. William Kyle III and Naithan George both added double-doubles in contribution to the win.
Syracuse basketball moves on to SMU Saturday at JMA Wireless Dome, at 2 p.m., where hopefully the lights and scoreboard stay on.