Syracuse 71 - Louisiana Tech 69: Orange Down Bulldogs, Improve To 6-3

The Syracuse Orange barely avoided their third consecutive loss and their fourth loss of the 2014-15 season on Sunday afternoon, needing a game-winning jump hook from Rakeem Christmas to edge out the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 71-69 at the Carrier Dome in front of roughly 19,000 fans.

Syracuse, after leading by only one at halftime and struggling throughout the day to pull away from Louisiana Tech, finally seemed like it had gained control in the latter stages of the second half, holding a 65-55 lead with under four minutes to play. The Orange failed to shut the door, however, and the visiting Bulldogs strung together a 14-4 run to tie the game at 69 with 25 seconds left.

But that's when Rakeem Christmas scored the most important basket of Syracuse's season with just seconds remaining, securing the win as the Orange improved to 6-3.

Trevor Cooney led the way with a game-high 25 points, connecting on four of his eight three-point tries and coming up with momentum-shifting buckets all game long. Tyler Roberson had his second career double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 17 (!) rebounds.

The woes continued for freshman point guard Kaleb Joseph, who turned the ball over eight times. Syracuse committed 17 turnovers as a team, but the Orange also forced 17 turnovers and pulled down 20 offensive rebounds.

Also worth noting: Michael Gbinije missed the entire second half due to an apparent injury.

It wasn't fun. It wasn't pretty. But a win's a win, and against a decent Louisiana Tech team, I'll take it. We have more recapping still to come but, for now, leave your postgame thoughts here.