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LAS VEGAS -- A three-day stretch of difficult matchups for Syracuse became more challenging Monday, when the Orange announced that leading scorer Donnie Freeman will miss at least a week because of a lower-body injury. As a result of the injury, Syracuse freshman Kiyan Anthony -- the son of NBA legend Carmelo Anthony -- will receive a heavier workload for the Orange at the Players Era Festival. Through four games, Freeman, a 6-foot-9 sophomore forward, has averaged 17.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks for Syracuse, which lost to No. 3 Houston on Monday night 78-74 in overtime, and next plays Kansas on Tuesday before it faces an undetermined opponent in Las Vegas later in the week. Freeman also anchors a defense that entered the week holding opponents to 34.9% shooting inside the arc, which is No. 2 in the country. His absence will clearly put additional pressure on Anthony, who entered Monday second on the team at 14.8 points per game. Against the best defense in the nation in Houston on Monday, Anthony had 10 points in 24 minutes. "I feel like we could definitely get one of those games [at Players Era]," Anthony told reporters last week. "We could definitely get one, if not both, of those games out in Vegas. It'll definitely give us a lot of momentum, coming back here and playing Tennessee [next week]. That's the main goal is to win, no matter who is playing good or what's going on." Carmelo Anthony helped the Orange to the 2003 national championship as a freshman before becoming a 10-time NBA All-Star.
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