SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Reserve Quadir Copeland scored 11 points and his 3-pointer from the left wing as time expired lifted Syracuse to a 72-69 win over Miami on Saturday.
On the play, Judah Mintz got stopped on his drive to the right then threw a cross-court past to an open Copeland who buried just his sixth 3-pointer of the season. The basket equaled the largest lead of the game for the Orange.
Syracuse is (13-5, 4-3 ACC) undefeated at home (9-0) for the first time in nine seasons.
Miami (12-6, 3-4) led most of the game but never by more than eight. The Hurricanes entered having won the last three in the series by a total of eight points.
Syracuse was led by 22 points from JJ Starling, 12 from Chris Bell, and 11 from Copeland. Malik Brown scored ten points and pulled down eleven rebounds, while Mintz recorded a career-high 13 assists.
Leading the Hurricanes, Nijel Pack scored 19 points to go over 1,500 for his career. Kyshawn George scored the final seven points for Miami with ten points, while Matt Cleveland finished with sixteen points and twelve rebounds.
The leading scorer and rebounder for the Hurricanes, Norchard Omier, was sidelined due to an unidentified lower body injury.
With 7:47 remaining, Cleveland scored a slam after Wooga Poplar made a three-pointer, giving Miami a 55-48 advantage. Starling’s 3-pointer levelled the score at 59, and Bell’s and Brown’s dunks put Syracuse ahead 64–62 following a 3-pointer by Miami’s Bensley Joseph. It was the Orange’s first loss since 21–20.
With 1:55 remaining, Starling made his sixth 3-pointer from the right corner, but at 1:17, George banked in a deep straightaway three.
Both teams failed to set up Copeland’s heroics, which resulted in Syracuse’s first thrilling victory since defeating Duke 78-75 on February 22, 2017.
Miami’s shooting percentage was 49%, but they only made 8 of 23 3-pointers and 3 of 5 foul shots. Syracuse shot 40%, but only made 12 of 32 three-pointers and 10 of 15 free throws.
Cleveland helped Miami take a 31-30 lead at the half by making 5 of 8 shots and scoring 10 points. Though they were only 1 of 9 from 3-point range, the Hurricanes still shot 51%. Syracuse made more long-range shots (6 of 17) .
