While probably not the first choice to take a game-winning 3-pointer, Quadir Copeland ended up being the right choice on Saturday, as he canned a buzzer-beating trey to give Syracuse a 72-69 win over Miami at the JMA Wireless Dome. A Judah Mintz-Maliq Brown pick-and-roll did not provide the Orange (13-5, 4-3 ACC) with the look they wanted, but Mintz capped a near triple-double by hitting a wide-open Copeland with a cross-court pass for his career-high 13th assist on the game-winner.

Copeland’s hero moment would not have been possible without another SU player having a career day from long range. J.J. Starling drilled a half dozen 3’s en route to a game-high 22 points for Syracuse, including a pair of triples in the final five minutes.

The Hurricanes (12-6, 3-4) appeared to take control late, using an 8-2 burst to match their biggest lead of the day and take a 55-48 lead that forced an Orange time out with under eight minutes remaining. Chris Bell came off the bench and almost immediately capped an 8-2 SU run with a 3-pointer that pulled the hosts within one.

Syracuse would tie the score twice before a Brown putback slam would give them the edge at 64-62 with just over three minutes to play. Then, it was Miami’s turn to knot the game up, as Kyshawn George did so after three straight Orange scores, the last at 69-69 with just over a minute to play. Each team had a defensive stop after that, setting up the Copeland game-winner.

Starling’s big day was supported by Bell, who added 12 points, all via the long ball, including a pair of bombs in the waning minutes. Copeland’s clincher gave him 11 points in the game for SU. Mintz finished with ten points and eight rebounds to go with his 13 dimes while Brown also had a double-double, claiming 11 rebounds to go with his ten points.

The second half rally by Syracuse offset a fairly poor first half effort. The Orange offered minimal resistance as the ‘Canes stormed inside nearly at will without starting center Norchad Omier, who missed the game due to an injury suffered in practice late this week.

Miami shot 13-of-18 inside the arc before the break, including 12 dunks and lay-ups, and held a 31-30 lead at intermission on the strength of their 24-8 advantage in points in the paint. The Hurricanes had the better of things in the early minutes of the second half, holding the lead for about 14 minutes of the session before SU’s closing rally.

Nijel Pack topped Miami with 19 points while Matthew Cleveland added 16 points and snared a dozen boards. George finished with ten points while Bensley Joseph had eight and Michael Nwoko seven in his first career start as Omier’s replacement.

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