Darrion Williams, NC State finish strong to down Syracuse

Darrion Williams racked up 23 points and Quadir Copeland scored 19 points against one of his former teams as North Carolina State defeated Syracuse 88-68 for its third consecutive victory on Tuesday night at Raleigh, N.C.

Ven-Allen Lubin tacked on 18 points courtesy of 8-for-8 shooting from the field and a pair of free throws for the Wolfpack (15-6, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). Musa Sagnia added 10 points off the bench. Copeland supplied nine assists.

Donnie Freeman scored 16 of his 24 points in the first half and finished shooting 9-for-18 from the field for Syracuse (12-9, 3-5), which lost its fourth game in a row. The Orange, which also received 17 points from J.J. Starling, ended up at 38.8% (26 of 67) from the floor.

NC State held a 15-9 scoring advantage in made free throws and a 45-33 rebounding edge. Freeman had a game-high 10 boards.

Williams, who tallied his highest point total in a game since mid-November, connected on five of the Wolfpack's seven 3-point baskets. NC finished at 50.8% (33 of 65) from the field, including 26-for-41 on two-point attempts.

Syracuse hung around, staying as close as 55-51 with less than 12 minutes remaining. Copeland, who began his college career by playing two seasons for the Orange (2022-24), had the next five points, beginning by converting on a three-point play.

The Wolfpack stayed on the attack and Syracuse failed to make necessary stops on defense. Sagnia's basket off an offensive rebound pushed the margin to 68-57 with 7:32 to play.

Beginning with Copeland's drive for a crowd-pleasing dunk, NC State produced a 9-0 run late in the game to extend its lead to more than 20 points.

NC State led 41-37 at halftime before Freeman had the first basket of the second half. Then the Wolfpack went on an 8-2 spurt.

Starling and backcourt mate Naithan George combined to shoot 9-for-31 from the field, including 2-for-10 on 3s.

--Field Level Media