Syracuse stays hot with buzzer beater to upend Miami

Quadir Copeland made a 3-pointer just before time expired to lift host Syracuse to a 72-69 victory over Miami in an Atlantic Coast Conference thriller Saturday afternoon.

With the score tied at 69-all, Judah Mintz drove along the right side of the lane before finding Copeland on the left wing. Copeland, who had been 1 of 8 from the field up to that point, knocked down the contested jumper as the buzzer sounded.

Syracuse (13-5, 4-3 ACC) won for the eighth time in 10 games, thanks in large part to backcourt standouts JJ Starling (22 points) and Mintz (10 points, 13 assists). Chris Bell contributed 12 points and Copeland finished with 11 points, while Maliq Brown had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Nijel Pack led Miami (12-6, 3-4) with 19 points, while Matthew Cleveland chipped in 16 points and 12 rebounds. The Hurricanes lost despite shooting 49.2 percent from the field while holding the Orange to 39.7 percent.

Early on, the teams were tied at 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 before Miami started to gain some separation. The Hurricanes went on a 9-0 run to open a 29-21 lead, but the Orange responded with three 3-pointers in the final four minutes to get within 31-30 at the break.

The game was tight with about eight minutes left in the second half before the Hurricanes scored five in a row to go ahead 55-48. The Orange answered with an 8-2 run to get back within 57-56 with 5:19 remaining and tied it 59-59 on a 3-pointer by Starling with 4:30 remaining.

Starling put Syracuse back front with a 3-pointer with just under two minutes left for a 69-66 lead, but Kyshawn George tied it for Miami with a banked-in 3-pointer with 1:15 remaining.

Each team missed a jumper on its next possession, setting up Copeland's game winner.

—Field Level Media