Syracuse's Second Half Comeback leads to a Victory over Wake Forest

After losing the last two road games aganist ranked ACC opponents UNC and Notre Dame, the Syracuse Orange men's basketball team returned home on Tuesday night to face ACC opponent Wake Forest. Going into this game, the Orange had defeated the Deacons in the previous four games, including last year's 86-83 overtime victory.

In the first half, both teams were even in field goal percentage with 36 percent, but Wake Forest had a 19-16 rebound advantage over the Orange that helped them take a 32-29 lead at halftime. Even though the Orange were down at the half, the team shot 33 percent in three point shooting, including four threes by Andrew White III, who lead the Orange with 16 points.

To start the second half, the Orange were able to tie the game up with defensive rebounds and free throw shots due to early Wake Forest fouls. It looked like Syracuse built the momentum they needed to play consistently the rest of the game, but with twelve minutes to go, they found themselves yet again to be down, but by only five points.

With 6:19 left in the game, the Orange tied the game up at 61 and started having an active lead as they were up by six points, but then the Deacons had come back and the game was tied at 68 with two minutes left.

Skipping ahead to about 15 seconds left of the game, the game started to get nerve-racking for both Syracuse and Wake Forest as Syracuse only had a two point lead. Then, both teams fouled each other to send players to the line.

Syracuse took the 81-76 victory over Wake Forest, which is their fifth all-time win against them. White III lead the Orange with 27 points and sophomore John Collins lead the Deacons with 23 points. According to Syracuse.com's Facebook page, White III now has a total of 1,000 points in his career.

Looking ahead, the Orange will stay home to face the #6 Florida State Seminoles on Saturday afternoon as they look to improve their 4-4 ACC record.