Syracuse put up an impressive fight in 78-74 loss to #3 Houston

Right before the game, the Orange announced that star Donnie Freeman would be out for the entirety of the Players Era tournament. Surprisingly, Syracuse kept it extremely close with number three Houston. It was a back-and-forth game for nearly 17 minutes, but the Cougars pulled away, going up by 11. Then the Orange did the unthinkable, scoring 11 straight to force overtime. But in that final frame, the Orange came up just short, falling to the Cougars 78-74. And after the game, both head coaches really hammered home just how impressive of a game Syracuse played.

“Give credit to coach Adrien Autry. Let’s give credit to Syracuse. Their kids played hard. They played good enough to win. Their guards played good. Uh number 42, Kyle. Uh he’s tough. Really impressed with Syracuse. Really impressed with uh Coach Autry and his staff. I thought they did a great job.” Houston Head Coach Kelvin Sampson.

“Our culture gave us a. chance to win this game. Um you we came up short, no more victories here, but you know, I was just proud the way these  guys fought back. You know, uh we knew this was going to be a fight. I’m very disappointed in our result tonight, but you know, we’ll be ready. We’ll be ready tomorrow.” Syracuse Head Coach Adrian Autry.

And one thing you didn’t hear either coach talk about the poor free-throw shooting, which was really the story of the game. The Orange 12 of 29 from the line and still only lost by four to the number three team in the country. This might be a different Syracuse squad that you’ve seen in years past, but Coach Red’s crew has another opportunity to prove themselves tomorrow against Kansas. Tip off for that one. Game number two of the Players Era Festival will take place at 3:30 Eastern time, 12:30 Pacific time. Reporting from Las Vegas, Adam Avin, Citrus TV.