As the Syracuse Orange’s game against No. 3 Houston progressed, the doors got closer to its chances of winning as the game clock got closer to reaching zero.
Syracuse previously held a nine-point lead in the first half. It would trail by three (37-34) heading into the second half, when the Cougars began to take command. Houston’s defensive pressure intensified and Syracuse’s offense found itself stuck in the mud. But, despite trailing by 11 points (65-54) with less than five minutes remaining, the team rallied and pushed back to force overtime in a game 78-74 loss to Houston.
“We pride ourselves on our culture, our energy, our relationships, our toughness, our fight. That’s what we talk about,” coach Adrian Autry said after the game. “So I was just proud that these guys got a chance to see it and experience it. As we move forward, we’ll continue to get better.”
With 4:56 left, Syracuse called a timeout, regrouped and found its equipment.
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For the rest of regulation, Syracuse held Houston to just two points (both free throws) and zero baskets. On offense, it took multiple players to attack the Cougars’ elite defense and put the ball in the basket.
JJ Starling started the scoring streak with a semi-transition layup. After Houston’s Emanuel Sharp made two free throws, Starling and William Kyle each scored again around the rim. This is another key reason why Syracuse was able to come back strong. The Orange outscored the Cougars by 14 points in the paint.
The pattern continued: stop, then score.
It was Tyler Betsey’s turn to gain momentum, recovering a rebound on a missed free throw from Starling to bring the gap back to five points (67-62). It was then three hours after another stop by the Orange defense was followed by a score from Kyle. Houston had two chances to put the game away with less than 90 seconds left, but didn’t.
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Instead, Kyle grabbed the rebound from the loose ball. Naithan George pushed the ball down the court and found Betsey wide open on the wing for the game-tying three, capping an 11-0 Syracuse run.
“We knew they were going to fight. We were going to fight too, so just keep our cool and keep fighting. That was the main message, and we were able to send it into overtime,” George said.
Ultimately, Syracuse fell short in overtime, but just being there in the first place is certainly a promising sign for the team moving forward.
Houston is not only the No. 3 team in the country, but it was also Syracuse’s first Power 5 opponent and first Q1 game of the 2025-26 season. As some Syracuse fans have seen in the program’s recent history, this was a game where it could have gotten “ugly” in previous instances. Instead, the team continued to fight until the final buzzer, and that was that. to be broken down one of its best players in Donnie Freeman.
“It was a hard-fought game. Both teams went toe-to-toe,” Autry said. “Our culture gave us a chance to win, this game failed, but we just have to keep working hard, play at level five, stay together and keep moving forward.”
Looking ahead, maintaining this resilience and effort will be key to Orange and the team’s aspirations this year. Over the next week, Syracuse is already guaranteed to face two more first-quarter opponents: Kansas in Las Vegas and Tennessee at home. Between these two competitions is a third Players Era Festival match, most likely against a P5 school.
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For the Orange to succeed in 2025-26, some of the close losses to high-quality opponents will eventually have to turn into wins. It can’t afford to shoot below 42 percent on free throws, like it did against Houston, nor can it afford to be in a significant deficit to start against elite programs.
That said, if the Houston game proves one thing, it’s that this team can at least compete against these kinds of opponents, a big step forward from what recent history has shown.
“We knew it was going to be a fight, and we came through. We came back. So we have to continue to have that mentality moving forward,” Autry said.
Syracuse will look to get back in the win column on Tuesday, when it returns to MGM Grand Garden Arena to take on the Jayhawks.
