Syracuse, Texas Tech seek bounce-back effort at Legends Classic

Syracuse and Texas Tech can feel each other’s pain.In Thursday’s semifinal round of the Legends Classic, both teams forged late rallies that came up a few points short, leading to their first losses of the season. Now the Orange (3-1) will face the Red Raiders (4-1) in the tournament’s consolation game on Friday night in New York.Syracuse fell in a 14-3 hole early and was down 16 early in the second half before Eddie Lampkin started the comeback with a personal 7-0 run featuring a 3-point play and a dunk. Lampkin scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half.The Orange took a pair of one-point leads as time wound down, but they made only one field goal in the final 3:17 as Texas secured a 70-66 win at the free-throw line.”There’s no consolation prizes,” said Syracuse coach Adrian Autry, who bemoaned three late turnovers as well as missed rebounds. “We had a chance to win the game, and we didn’t. That’s on us, that’s on me.”Lampkin added six assists and five rebounds to continue a stellar start to his Syracuse career. The former TCU and Colorado center is averaging 14.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists through four games.JJ Starling, one game removed from a 38-point performance in a double-overtime win over Youngstown State, led the Orange against Texas with 16 points.Like Syracuse in its game, Texas Tech was behind by as many as 16 points in the latter semifinal game against Saint Joseph’s. The trio of JT Toppin, Darrion Williams and Chance McMillian scored 34 of the Red Raiders’ 42 second-half points to fuel a comeback.

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