Syracuse outscores NC State, headed to ACC quarterfinals
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Syracuse (16–8) advances to the quarterfinals after a decisive 89–68 win against NC State (13–10) in the second round of the ACC Tournament on Wednesday afternoon.
The win came from Syracuse’s 14 three-pointers and a strong offensive showing in the second half, which included 46 points.
“We really moved the ball well to start the second half,” said Jim Boeheim, Syracuse head coach. “It was a really good offensive game, one of our best all year.”
The matchup opened with both teams bringing in five points before the clock struck 18:00. For the first eight minutes, the teams were within a handful of points of each other, but by the 10-minute mark, Syracuse expanded their lead to the double digits thanks to a 3-pointer by Buddy Boeheim.
However, the Wolfpack did not let the Orange lead last long. They fought back and scored 21 points in the rest of the half, which ended with the Orange up by five, with a score of 43–38.
“We just couldn’t stop them, and they just couldn’t stop us,” said Boeheim on the teams’ first half performances.
The Orange burst back onto the court in the second half earning 16 points in the first five minutes. That brought them to an 18-point lead over the Wolfpack, who scored three in that time span, bringing the score to 59–41.
NC State bounced back, but it did not last long, and the last few minutes proved to be tough for the Wolfpack, as Syracuse continued to increase their lead. The Orange never let them get closer than 14 points the rest of the game, and it ended in Syracuse’s favor, with a final score of 89–68.
“We have grown as a team offensively, just getting better every game,” said Syracuse guard Buddy Boeheim.
Boeheim helped lead the team to victory, scoring a game-high 27-points for the Orange, making this his 20th career game scoring over 20 points. He was just one point below the program record for points in an ACC Tournament game, behind Frank Howard’s 28 points in March 2019.
Four Orange players joined Boeheim in the double digits: Joseph Girard III with 14 points, Alan Griffin and Quincy Guerrier tied with 12 and Robert Braswell with 11.
The Wolfpack had three scorers in the double digits: D.J. Funderburk with 14 points, Manny Bates with 12 points and Dereon Seabron with 11 points. Senior Braxton Beverly brought in nine points for the Wolfpack and became the 54th player in NC State history to score over 1,000 points in his career.
In total, the Orange made 56.7 percent of their attempts from the field (34-of-60), while the Wolfpack made 36.2 percent (21-of-58).
“It was just their night,” NC State head coach Kevin Keatts said. “Fourteen threes is a lot, and it’s hard to overcome that.”
Syracuse (16–8, 9–7 ACC) will continue on in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals against regular season champion University of Virginia on Thursday, March 11. The game will start at noon in the Greensboro Coliseum, and will be broadcasted live on ESPN.
