ATLANTA (Interstat) — Donnie Freeman scored 27 points and Syracuse built a large first-half lead to defeat Georgia Tech 82-72 in an Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball game Tuesday night at Hank McCamish Pavilion.

The Orange led 44-30 at halftime and withstood a stronger second half from the Yellow Jackets. Naithan George added 17 points for Syracuse, which improved to 9-5 overall. Baye Ndongo led Georgia Tech with 20 points. The Yellow Jackets fell to 10-6. Attendance was 6,216.