Texas edges Syracuse to reach Legends Classic final

Arthur Kaluma logged a double-double Thursday night and freshman Tre Johnson sank six foul shots in the last minute as Texas held off Syracuse 70-66 in a semifinal of the Legends Classic in New York.

Kaluma scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds before fouling out with 10.8 seconds left. Johnson also had 16 points, scoring eight in the final four minutes. He sealed the outcome by draining two foul shots with 9.3 seconds remaining.

Johnson's performance at the stripe was something the Orange (3-1) couldn't duplicate. They erased a 16-point deficit in the second half to take a couple of brief leads down the stretch but ultimately did themselves in with poor work at the free-throw line, where they finished 9 of 18.

Chendall Weaver contributed 10 points and nine rebounds for the Longhorns (4-1), which advanced to the Friday night championship game to face the winner of the second Thursday game, Texas Tech or St. Joseph's. Syracuse will play the loser for third place.

J.J. Starling scored 16 points for the Orange, who made only 5 of 21 3-point attempts (23.8 percent). Eddie Lampkin added 14 points and six assists, and Chris Bell and Jyare Davis each tallied 11 points.

The first half was all Texas, all the time. The Longhorns feasted on a Syracuse defense that has struggled to stop opponents off the dribble and were able to shut down Starling, who was coming off producing a career-high 38 points in Syracuse's 104-95 double overtime win Saturday against Youngstown State.

The Orange didn't score for more than four minutes, until Starling drained a 3-pointer to end a game-opening 9-0 spurt. Texas upped the margin to 14-3 when Tramon Mark hit a 3-pointer.

The margin stayed in double figures for most of the half's remainder and peaked at 16 before Syracuse was able to make a late push. Starling dunked and Donnie Freeman drilled a 3-pointer with six seconds left, allowing the Orange to pull within 41-30 at the break.

--Field Level Media