Syracuse, N.Y. ― The Syracuse Orange frittered away almost all of a 14-point lead in the game’s last seven minutes but barely held on for a 78-73 win over Monmouth inside the JMA Wireless Dome on Tuesday night.

The Orange nearly gave the game away with incredibly poor free throw shooting. Syracuse made only 57% of its free throws, going 19-for-33 at the line.

In the second half, Syracuse had four different occasions when a player went to the line to shoot two shots and missed them both.

The last came with 10 seconds left and Syracuse clinging to a 76-73 lead. Bryce Zephir, a reserve guard, missed both of his free throws, giving Monmouth a chance to tie the game.

But Jason Rivera-Torres’ 3-pointer was off target. Syracuse’s Donnie Freeman hit two free throws with less than a second on t

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