Upset Bid Falls Short Against #6 UNC, 84-73

Saturday, January 9

Syracuse, N.Y.

8:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

(10-7) (0-4)

North Carolina

(15-2) (4-0)

North Carolina

Syracuse

Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski

1/9/2016 10:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Syracuse 10-7, 0-4) fell short against #6/7 North Carolina (15-2, 4-0), 84-73, on Saturday night at the Carrier Dome in Coach Jim Boeheim's return to the sideline. The Tar Heels came up big in the end, shooting 12-of-13 from the field in the closing minutes of the game to erase a six-point Orange advantage.

Coach Boeheim was back after serving a nine-game, NCAA suspension, that covered a little over a month.

Grad student Trevor Cooney finished with a season-high 27 points, a total which including five 3-pointers. Freshman Malachi Richardson tallied 16 points, including four three's, and dished out a team-high five assists.

Junior Tyler Roberson and senior DaJuan Coleman each pulled down seven rebounds, while Roberson added 13 points.

The two squads traded baskets to kick off the ACC matchup before Syracuse used eight unanswered points to build a 13-7 lead in the first six minutes of the game. Cooney had the right touch from beyond the arc, as the guard drained his second 3-pointer of the matchup at the 12:41 mark to help the Orange keep a 16-12 advantage.

The Tar Heels took the lead back off of a jumper by Brice Johnson at the 9:52 mark, 21-20, and proceeded to continue on a 10-0 run to extend the lead to seven with 6:11 left to go in the first half, 27-20.

The Orange took rallied after that, as another three by Cooney and a subsequent jumper by the grad student broke the North Carolina run and cut the lead down to two, 27-25. In the following possession, Richardson drained the Orange's fifth 3-pointer of the half to bring a one-point 'Cuse lead heading into the final three minutes of the half, 28-27.

The show from beyond the 3-point arc didn't stop, as Richardson sunk another trey with 1:24 left in the first 20 minutes to bring a 33-31 Syracuse lead. A layup by North Carolina's Johnson in the final seconds on the half evened out the score at 33 apiece heading into the locker rooms.

UNC started off on a quick 5-0 run to begin the second half, but Cooney's fourth 3-point basket of the night cut the Tar Heel run at the 18:47 mark, and make the score, 38-36.

A pair of free throws by Michael Gbinije put the Orange back on top at the 13:25 mark, 47-46. Cooney registered his fifth 3-pointer and 23rd point of the night while helping Syracuse on a 7-0 run to extend a 56-50 lead with 8:28 left to play.

The two teams proceeded to trade points heading into the latter minutes of the matchup, with neither team leading the other by more than five points. The Tar Heels, however, came up big in the end, building a 75-66 lead with just over two minutes left. From there on out, time was on North Carolina's side, as the clock expired with an 11-point Tar Heel lead, 84-73.

Syracuse's three-game home stand comes to an end on Wednesday, Jan. 13 when it hosts Boston College at 7 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.