Orange Fall to Hurricanes in OT

Saturday, March 7

Coral Gables, FL

4 PM

Syracuse University

17-14,10-10ACC

Miami

15-15,7-13ACC

OT 1

Syracuse

Miami (FL)

3/7/2020 6:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Jim Boeheim Press Conference Highlights

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – A 17-point scoring effort from Marek Dolezaj was not enough for Syracuse (17-14, 10-10 ACC), falling to Miami (15-15, 7-13 ACC) in overtime, 69-65. Bourama Sidibe grabbed 10 boards for his fifth-consecutive 10+-rebound game while Dolezaj secured seven of his own.

Isaiah Wong led all scorers with 18 points for the Hurricanes while DJ Vasiljevic followed close behind with 17 of his own.

The loss gives the Orange a 10-10 record in conference play on the season, making them the sixth-seed in the ACC Tournament where they will face the winner of the 11 seed and 14 seed on Wednesday, March 11 at 9 p.m.

HURRICANES HOLD ON IN OT
Miami opened the overtime frame hot, scoring the first four points off free throws from Wong and a jumper from Kameron McGusty. Buddy Boeheim scored a pair of his own from the charity stripe before a Wong triple put the Hurricanes up 58-63 with 3:29 to play in OT.

The Wong triple commenced a stretch where free throw makes from Quincy Guerrier and Jesse Edwards were the lone two points over a nearly three and a half minute stretch before a Keith Stone slam with 28 seconds to play put the 'Canes up five. Dolezaj went behind the back and finished to put the Orange within three with 23 seconds to play.

While taking the ball up court, Wong was called for the travel and subsequently fouled Quincy Guerrier, where the freshman hit one-of-two attempts to make the Miami advantage 65-63 with 10 seconds to play.

The Hurricanes drained their final four free throw attempts to hold on for a 69-65 victory.

ELI AND MAREK
The Orange opened the first seven minutes with four points apiece from Elijah Hughes and Dolezaj accounting for the entirety of the team's scoring. The pair shot a combined four-for-seven from the field during the stretch to give the Orange an early 8-7 lead.

THE U UNLOADS
With the Orange holding a 13-9 lead, Anthony Walker drilled a jumper to kick off a 6-0 run for the Hurricanes that lasted over four minutes and featured points in the paint from Wong and Sam Waardenburg. During the stretch, the Orange went a combined 0-for-8 from the field. Joseph Girard III ended the run with a smooth right-handed layup to make the score 15-15 with 7:44 to go in the opening half.

Following a Dolezaj free-throw make with 5:59 to play in the half, Miami scored back-to-back baskets when McGusty drained a triple and Harlond Beverly knocked down a jumper. A Slovakian spin-o-rama from Dolezaj made the Miami lead 18-22 with 4:28 to play in the first frame.

NOT FALLING IN THE FIRST
The buckets were few and far between for both squads in the first half. The teams shot a combined 20-for-58 from the field, with each team only knocking two threes. Syracuse's second triple of the game came when Sidibe tipped out a rebound to Boeheim, who converted from beyond the arc with five seconds left in the frame to make the score 24-26 at the half.

Dolezaj and Hughes continued to carry their weight throughout the half, scoring a combined 17 points to account for 70.8 percent of the Orange's first half points.

SCORELESS AT SOUTH BEACH
After a McGusty 3-ball and a Dolezaj layup with 19:12 to play, the teams continued their lackluster shooting performances. Over three minutes elapsed before Boeheim found a wide-open Girard III with 16:14 to play, who nailed the triple to tie the game at 29. 'Cuse and the 'Canes went a combined 0-13 from the field before Girard III's three.

SLOW TO START THE SECOND
The Hurricane offense had a slow start to open the second half. Miami missed 12 consecutive field goal attempts after McGusty's triple at 19:32, allowing the Orange to score seven unanswered points and take the lead. A free-throw make from Beverly gave the Canes their first points in over seven minutes, making the Orange advantage 31-30 with 12:29 to play.

THE FRESHMEN TAKE FLIGHT
With a Vasiljevic 3-ball tying the game at 33, Edwards worked his way to the line and knocked down both of his shots from the charity stripe. Guerrier followed up with a contested layup in the paint, working his way through multiple defenders and rattling a shot home to make the score 37-33 with 10:40 left in regulation.

The freshmen kicked off a 6-0 run for the Orange, bookended by a Boeheim jumper to put the Orange up six. Vasiljevic nailed his third triple of the game cut the Orange edge to three with 8:07 left in the contest.

JOE KNOWS SCORING
As the Hurricanes knocked on the door with under five to go, Girard III answered the call. After a Rodney Miller layup tied the game at 44, the Glens Falls-native, took a step back three that bounced around and rattled home for a three-point Orange edge. After Wong again evened the score at 47, a made free throw from Girard III put the Orange up one with 3:41 to play.

CANES COME BACK
With 2:06 to play down one, Vasiljevic knocked down a triple from the top of the arc to put the Canes up two, 52-50. After a pair of Dolezaj free throws evened the score, a Waardenburg slam again gave Miami a two-point edge.

A Boeheim miss from downtown sent the Hurricanes storming up the court, eventually getting to the line with 16 seconds to go, where Wong nailed both attempts from the charity stripe to put Miami up 56-52.

GIRARD III IS GOLDEN
Girard III responded quickly, rushing down the court for an uncontested layup to cut the deficit to two.

After Waardenburg clanked a one-and-one attempt, Girard III again worked his magic, burying a clutch midrange jumper with one second to play, taking the game to overtime tied at 56.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

Dolezaj's fourth rebound of the game gave him 200 on the season while his fifth of the game gave him 500 career boards. Additionally, his second field goal of the game gave him 100 made field goals during the 2019-20 campaign.
Hughes' first field goal of the game was his 400^th career field goal.
Sidibe pulled down 10+ rebounds for the fifth-consecutive game, making him the first Orange to do so since Tyler Lydon during the 2016-17 season.
Hughes' three-point make with 11:55 to go in the first half gave him his 1,047^th career point at Syracuse, allowing him to pass Rakeem Christmas for 61^st place on the program's all-time scoring list.
The Orange edged the Hurricanes on the offensive glass, pulling down 17 offensive rebounds to Miami's 16.
The loss was the first time the Orange had dropped an overtime affair since falling to Florida State, 90-101, in double-overtime on January 13, 2018.
The loss brings the Syracuse advantage over Miami in the all-time series to 19-9.

UP NEXT
Syracuse travels to Greensboro, N.C. next week for the 2020 ACC Tournament. They will face the winner of the 11 seed and 14 seed on Wednesday, March 11 at 9 p.m.

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