Syracuse's NCAA Run Ends in Semifinal

Saturday, April 2

Houston

8:49 pm

Syracuse University

North Carolina

Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski

4/3/2016 12:10:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

HOUSTON - Syracuse's inspiring run in the 2016 NCAA Basketball Tournament came to an end in the national semifinals with an 83-66 loss to No. 1-seed North Carolina. The Orange closed the campaign with a 23-14 overall record while the Tar Heels move on to the NCAA Championship game against Villanova with a 33-6 mark.

In their final game in a Syracuse uniform, graduate students Trevor Cooney and Michael Gbinije scored 22 and 12 points, respectively. Cooney also had five rebounds and three steals. Freshman Malachi Richardson added 17 points and five rebounds for the Orange.

Syracuse jumped out to a 13-10 advantage after the first six minutes of play. Three-pointers by freshmen Tyler Lydon and Richardson were sandwiched around Cooney's second basket of the contest to help construct the margin. The Tar Heels took the lead, 14-13, but Lydon answered with another 3-pointer to give the 'Cuse its last advantage of the contest. A slam from junior Tyler Roberson knotted the game at 18-18, the seventh tie in the first 12 minutes, but a 9-0 Carolina run gave the Tar Heels the upper hand for good.

North Carolina, aided by a 26-12 edge in points in the paint, owned a 39-28 lead at halftime. The Orange was plagued by an 11-of-31 effort from the field (.355) and a 3-of-10 mark (.300) from the foul line. While Syracuse's zone defense limited the Tar Heels to an 0-of-10 result on 3-point attempts in the opening 20 minutes, UNC managed to convert 17-of-35 field goals overall (.486).

Following the break, North Carolina extended its lead to 17, 57-40, with 12:26 left in the game before Cooney scored five points in a row to ignite a 10-0 run and cut the margin to seven, 57-50, with 9:49 left in the game. The Tar Heels answered with a 3-pointer from Marcus Paige and a dunk by Brice Johnson but Cooney was on the mark again with a 3-pointer of his own that narrowed the deficit to 62-53.

North Carolina scored 21 of the last 34 points and emerged with the win. It was third meeting of the season between the two ACC rivals and the Tar Heels prevailed in each. UNC had four players in double digits, led by Johnson and Justin Jackson, who each scored 16. North Carolina finished with a commanding 43-31 advantage in rebounding and a 50-32 lead on points in the paint.

Syracuse had made it to the Final Four for the second time in four years and sixth time in program history. Cooney, who is the first Syracuse player to play in two Final Fours, played in 141 career games for the Orange, the eighth-best total in program history. He and Gbinije each scored 1,000 career points at Syracuse.

The team was honored with a post-game locker room visit from Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. L '68. The Vice President was introduced by Coach Jim Boeheim and spoke to the Orange.