Las Vegas ― The Syracuse Orange, playing without its leading scorer, almost pulled off an upset of the third-ranked Houston Cougars on Monday here at the Players Era Festival.

With starting forward Donnie Freeman watching from the bench with his right foot in a boot, the rest of the Syracuse players gave the Cougars everything they wanted and more before falling 78-74 in overtime.

Despite being short-handed, Syracuse took the fight right to Houston from the opening tap.

The Orange led by as many as nine points in the first half and refused to back down even when Houston went on runs of 10-3 and 9-0 in the second half.

With 1:54 left in the game and Syracuse trailing 67-62, a “Let’s Go Orange” chant broke out at the MGM Grand’s Garden Arena.

Syracuse center William Kyle answered with a dunk and then Tyler Betsey tied the game with his fourth 3-pointer of the night.

Syracuse had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but Orange center William Kyle had his shot blocked by Houston’s Joseph Tugler at the buzzer.

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Players Era Festival: Syracuse battles Houston at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas

Houston turned away Syracuse’s upset bid by relying on Emanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan, two key players back from a team that played in last year’s NCAA championship game. Sharp and Uzan both scored 26 points. Uzan and Sharp scored all of Houston’s points in the overtime.

But while Houston got the win, Syracuse’s effort was the story of the night.

Freeman had averaged 17.8 points in SU’s first four games. He was also the Orange’s second-leading rebounder. He figured to be a key against Houston’s rugged frontcourt.

Syracuse showed it had the kind of fight that makes for some of Vegas’ best heavyweight bouts. The Orange matched Houston’s intensity throughout.

This wasn’t a one-man effort either. Six Syracuse players scored in double-figures paced by Betsey’s 16 points.

Syracuse neither shot the ball extraordinarily well or relied on a bunch of Houston turnovers.

The Orange finished 8-for-31 from 3-point range (27%) and shot a woeful 12-for-29 (41%) at the free throw line.

Still, Syracuse hung with Houston for the entire night.

Syracuse took a 43-41 lead on Naithan George’s 3-point shot with 16 minutes left in the game. The game was tied at 44 a few minutes later.

But Houston went on a 10-4 run highlighted by freshman center Chris Cenac’s 3-point shot and then a traditional three-point play. The burst gave the Cougars a 54-47 lead.

Syracuse clawed back to within two points on Nate Kingz’s transition layup plus a foul that narrowed the margin to 56-54 with just over nine minutes left.

However, another 9-0 run from Houston with veteran guard Emanuel Sharp driving for a bucket and then hitting a 3-pointer ended Syracuse’s hopes of an upset.

Freeman was officially ruled out for Syracuse’s entire run here in Las Vegas just over an hour before Monday’s game.

It’s unclear just how serious Freeman’s injury is or when he might be able to return.

Syracuse freshman Sadiq White stepped into Freeman’s spot for the first start of his college career.

A dogged effort kept Syracuse in the game throughout the first half despite being short-handed.

Syracuse’s defense forced Houston to take difficult shots. The Cougars made only 35% of their shots in the opening half.

At the other end of the court, Syracuse did a good job of attacking Houston’s pressure defense and double-teams. Syracuse center William Kyle had assists on each of the Orange’s first two baskets. Orange guard JJ Starling found success driving and kicking to shooters like Betsey and Kiyan Anthony.

Starling had four assists in the first half, while Betsey and Anthony scored 11 and nine points, respectively.

The Orange led 23-14 midway through the half after Betsey drained a 3-pointer. At that point, Syracuse was 5-for-9 from 3-point range.

But Syracuse’s shooting went cold as the Orange went 1-for-10 from beyond the arc for the rest of the half.