Once more, missed free throws hurt Syracuse. And this time, it resulted in a loss.
The Syracuse Orange lost 66-62 to the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon, dropping its second game in three tries and falling to 5-2 in ACC play.
The Orange nearly battled back from a 12-point second half deficit, but Miami managed to fend off Syracuse's late rally.
Free throw shooting again plagued the Orange, who finished 8-of-19 from the charity stripe.
Rakeem Christmas shook off a slow start and finished with a game-high 23 points and eight rebounds to lead the way for Syracuse. Trevor Cooney added 14 points, while Tyler Roberson scored 10 and grabbed 14 rebounds.
On the other side, six different Hurricanes scored at least seven points. Tonye Jekiri matched Roberson with his own double-double, scoring a team-best 13 points and grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds.
30,667 fans filled the Carrier Dome seats, good enough for the largest on-campus college basketball crowd this season.
The gauntlet of the ACC schedule awaits the Orange. It starts on Monday night, when SU travels to Chapel Hill for a meeting with the North Carolina Tar Heels. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. from the Dean E. Smith Center.
