Syracuse, N.Y. – Senior EJ Farmer scored a career high, and three others reaches double figures, but the Youngstown State men's basketball team fell to Syracuse in double overtime, 104-95, on Saturday afternoon at the JMA Wireless Dome.
The Penguins fall to 1-2 overall while the Orange improve to 3-0.
Farmer record 26 points on 9-of-18 shooting while fifth-year senior Nico Galette scored 21 points with seven rebounds. Fifth-year senior Ty Harper poured in with 17 point and junior Jason Nelson added 10 points, including three 3-pointers, and five assists.
JJ Starling led Syracuse with a game-high 38 points while Eddie Lampkin, Jr. had 20 points and Donnie Freeman scored 19.
In a game with 17 ties and 17 lead changes, the Penguins led for more than 30 minutes, including nearly 18 minutes in the first half.
Youngstown State shot 50 percent from the field in the first half with four 3-pointers en route to a 38-31 halftime edge.
Farmer scored nine of the Penguins' first 11 points and Nelson hit a pair of 3-pointer to give the Penguins a 17-12 advantage. The Orange scored six straight to take their first lead of the game at the 9:48 mark of the first half.
After the teams exchange the lead a couple times, David Wilkerson's old-fashioned three-point play put the Penguins back up one and began a YSU 14-3 run for a seven-point lead, 34-27, with 3:11 to go before the half.
Baskets by Farmer and Cris Carroll to start the second half gave the Penguins their largest lead of the game at 42-33 with 17:39 left in the second half.
Syracuse went on a 13-4 run to tie the game at 46-46 at the 13:54 mark.
Nelson hit a 3-pointer to regain the lead, but Syracuse answered with back-to-back 3s to recapture the lead, 52-49 midway through the half.
Over the next eight minutes, neither team led by more than four points, and Galette broke a 64-64 tie with a 3-pointer at the 2:38 mark.
Galette's layup with 14 seconds left gave the Penguins a 73-71 lead, but Starling raced down the court and knotted the game with eight seconds remaining. The Penguins turned the ball over with two seconds left without attempting a game-winning shot.
In the first overtime period, Syracuse scored 13 of the first 16 points to take an eight-point lead with just over a minute to go.
Juwan Maxey hit two 3-pointers in a span of 37 seconds, and Harper converted a pair of free throws with seven second remaining to send the game into double overtime.
The Orange outscored the Penguins, 18-9, in the second extra frame to seal the victory.
Youngstown State faces Monmouth in the 2024 Axe 'Em Classic Thursday, Nov. 21. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. in Nacogdoches, Texas. YSU also plays Presbyterian on Nov. 22 and Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 23.
