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Syracuse Pushes No. 3 Houston to Overtime Before Falling 78-74 at Players Era Festival

Syracuse competed short-handed as leading scorer Donnie Freeman missed the Las Vegas event with a lower-body injury.

Overview

  • Syracuse spokesman Pete Moore said Freeman will miss the entire Players Era Festival and be re-evaluated after the team returns to campus, noting the issue is unrelated to last season’s foot fracture.
  • Houston prevailed in OT as Emanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan each scored 26 points and combined for all 11 Cougars points in the extra period.
  • Tyler Betsey led Syracuse with 16 points off the bench and center William Kyle posted a double-double, as the Orange put six players in double figures.
  • Free throws and the glass proved costly for Syracuse, which went 12-for-29 at the line while Houston turned a 49-43 rebounding edge into 21 second-chance points.
  • Next up for Syracuse is Kansas in Las Vegas, with the Players Era Festival providing neutral-court Quad 1/2 opportunities and a guaranteed $1 million NIL payout per school.