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Donnie Freeman and Jyáre Davis’ journeys to Syracuse are wildly different. When Freeman started playing for Saint John’s College High School (D.C) in 2020, Davis was a freshman at Providence. Five years later, their paths converged at Syracuse.

Freeman entered this year as the No. 15 recruit in the 2024 class according to 247Sports, SU’s highest-rated freshman since Carmelo Anthony. Davis on the other hand was brought in for added frontcourt experience after three successful seasons at Delaware.

The two seem like an odd match together. Freeman is a versatile forward with NBA aspirations, while Davis is an undersized bruising forward at 6-foot-7, 220 pounds. They haven’t shared the floor much together this season, though Saturday they nearly carried Syracuse to a win on the road against Notre Dame.

Freeman and Davis pieced together their best performances of the season, but it wasn’t enough as Syracuse (4-4, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) fell 69-64 to Notre Dame (5-5, 1-0 ACC). The duo accounted for 40 points (20 each) — 63% of the Orange’s total — on a combined 14-of-22 shooting, yet received little help elsewhere. Nobody else totaled more than eight points while shooting 41% from the field, as the Orange blanked from 3-point range, going 0-for-9.

“I thought Donnie and Jyáre had it going, and we stuck with that,” Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry said postgame. “They both were having a lot of success attacking around, getting to the basket, finishing. So that was what was working for us.”

Until Saturday, Autry hadn’t used the two together for extended periods of time due to Eddie Lampkin Jr. also being in the frontcourt fold.

But Freeman and Davis have each shined on separate occasions. Davis couldn’t have started off the season stronger, scoring 22 points, helping SU scrape by Le Moyne in its season-opener. He’s failed to replicate that success, only reaching double figures once since.

Meanwhile, Freeman has come into his own the past couple weeks. In four of Syracuse’s first five games, the forward only played at least 30 minutes once. Though last Tuesday against Cornell, Freeman finally broke through with a career-high 23 points and 12 rebounds.

Despite the mixed success for Freeman and Davis, they both had it going Saturday. In the first half, they each scored seven points, in what was a relatively uninspired performance from Syracuse. The Orange shot 39% from the field but trailed just 30-26.

On Tuesday, a disastrous second half against Tennessee led to a 26-point blowout loss. The Orange looked lost in their first game without leading-scorer J.J. Starling, who is out indefinitely with a broken hand. Lacking a perimeter scoring threat, Saturday’s second half plan was to get the ball inside.

Davis and Freeman were the primary options. With Davis on the bench coming out of the half, Freeman started off aggressively. He immediately got to the free throw line for two shots before giving Syracuse its first lead of the game with 16:28 remaining.

Jaquan Carlos initiated a pick-and-roll at the top of the key, hitting Freeman in the paint. The forward took one dribble and pivoted, finishing through traffic to put SU up 34-33.

Two and a half minutes later, Davis made his first contribution of the second half with a bucket inside to put SU back in front. Davis’ score was part of 22 straight for him and Freeman from 14:07 to 3:38 in the second half.

With SU down three, Freeman chucked up a 3-pointer, a bad decision considering he’s only hit three on 19 attempts this season. On the ensuing possession he got a steal and took the ball to the basket strong, converting an and-one. Following the bucket, he immediately went up to Autry as if to apologize for the previous 3.

“It all starts with confidence, going into the game being aggressive and letting the chips fall where they may,” Freeman said of his mentality.

Freeman’s offense was key early in the half, while Davis started to take over through the middle portions. As Notre Dame and Syracuse traded blows, Davis was a reliable source of offense. He scored seven straight points for the Orange, capped off by an and-one off a down low feed from Lucas Taylor.

The old-fashioned three-point play knotted the game at 54, before Freeman put the Orange back on top with another score in the paint with less than seven minutes left. While it would be the last time they would lead as Notre Dame responded with a quick 5-0 run.

Davis hit a mid-range jumper to tie the game 60-60 with three minutes left, but SU’s frontcourt duo was held quiet the rest of the way. Neither Freeman or Davis attempted a shot in the final three minutes, until Davis heaved a desperation triple with five seconds left and SU down four.

The ending was anticlimactic for Syracuse, especially for Freeman and Davis. The two got whatever they wanted in the paint, where Syracuse outscored Notre Dame 40-28. However, their performances could provide Syracuse with a blueprint on how to win games while Starling is sidelined.

“We got to find ways to continually get them the ball in the right places to make plays and score,” Autry said. “And I thought today, for the most part, those two guys (Davis and Freeman) did that. Until our other guys can kind of get going, and until we can get J.J. back, those are the guys that we have to get involved a lot more.”

Published on December 7, 2024 at 6:01 pm

Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22