Jackson & Withers Lead Key Road Win At Syracuse, 88-82

Saturday, February 15

Syracuse, N.Y.

6 PM

North Carolina

15-11,8-6ACC

Syracuse

11-15,5-10ACC

North Carolina

Syracuse

Jae'Lyn Withers

Photo by: Maggie Hobson

February 15, 2025 | Men's Basketball

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By: Matt Bowers

SYRACUSE, N.Y.—Ian Jackson and Jae'Lyn Withers led the way as North Carolina picked up a key win at Syracuse, 88-82, on Saturday night at the JMA Wireless Dome. The Tar Heels snapped a four-game road losing streak and bolstered their NCAA Tournament hopes with a crucial road victory.

Jackson, who hadn't reached double figures in points and was 2 for 11 from three-point range in the last four games, exploded with 16 first-half points and finished with 23 overall. It was his highest scoring output since dropping a season-high 27 at Notre Dame on January 4. He shot 8 for 15 from the floor and tied his season high with five three-pointers.

Making his second consecutive start, Withers played his best game in three seasons as a Tar Heel. He scored a season-high 19 points, hitting 7 of 10 shots and grabbing six rebounds before fouling out with 1:45 remaining. He scored 14 points in the second half and hit 3 of 4 three-point tries.

RJ Davis recorded 16 points, five rebounds and six assists in a team-high 37 minutes.

Big man Eddie Lampkin scored a game-high 26 points for Syracuse. He hit 9 of 14 field goal tries, 8 of 9 free throws and gathered 11 rebounds. JJ Starling added 22 points, six rebounds and four assists while hitting all 10 of his free throw attempts.

The Tar Heels improved to 15-11 this season, 8-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and 4-6 on the road this season. The Orange has lost six of its last eight and fell to 11-15, 5-10.

Playing yet another close game and leading, 82-80, with a minute left, Elliot Cadeau made a pretty spin move and drove for a layup from the left side with 39 seconds left that gave Carolina a four-point lead. Davis followed with two free throws with 25.1 seconds remaining, and Drake Powell added two more in the final 10 seconds to ice the win.

How It Happened
First Half
• For the second time this season and the second game in a row, the Tar Heels started a bigger lineup of Cadeau, Davis, Seth Trimble, Ven-Allen Lubin and Withers.
• Both teams got off to a sluggish start, and the score was tied, 4-all, at the first media timeout.
• Davis got his first bucket to give Carolina its biggest lead at 28-19, capping a 9-0 run in 2:16 that forced an Orange timeout with 4:57 left in the half.
• Soon thereafter, Jackson hit his third three-pointer of the first half to make it 31-21 Carolina. The Tar Heels eventually led by 11 at 39-28 before the Orange cut it to five with a minute left. Jackson hit a three-pointer with 38 seconds left for an eight-point UNC lead at the half.
• Carolina was 7 for 15 from three-point range in the first half while SU was 3 for 9.
• UNC led for 16:32 of the opening 20 minutes.
• The Tar Heels committed four first-half turnovers, three by Cadeau.

Second Half
• Syracuse cut into the UNC lead by hitting 10 of its first 15 second-half shots.
• Davis hit one from long range with 4:47 to go to give the Tar Heels a season-high 13 three-pointers. Carolina finished 13 for 28 behind the arc.
• Led by Jackson, the Tar Heels posted 34 points from their bench to 15 by Syracuse.
• At the same time, the Orange controlled points in the paint, 44-34, with a 40-36 rebounding edge.

Up Next
Carolina will host NC State on Wednesday night February 19 at 7 p.m. in the Smith Center.