'Cuse Edges Mountaineers, Advance To Sweet 16!

Sunday, March 21

Indianapolis, Ind.

5:15 PM

Syracuse University

West Virginia

3/21/2021 7:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Highlights Press Conference Photo Gallery

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Buddy Boeheim scored a game-high 25 points and buried three clutch free throws with under 30 seconds left to lead Syracuse (18-9) to a 75-72 victory against West Virginia (19-10) in Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Sunday, advancing the Orange to the Sweet Sixteen.

Syracuse will face No. 2 seed Houston on Saturday, March 27 in a 9:55 PM ET tipoff at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The game will be televised on TBS.

HOW THE GAME WAS DECIDED
With the game tied, 56-56 with 7:17 left, the Orange went on a 14-3 run keyed by five points from Boeheim and another four from Marek Dolezaj. The Orange did not trail again although West Virginia battled to the end.

Two free throws by Boeheim with 21 ticks left pushed Syracuse ahead, 74-68. Two buckets by West Virginia had the margin at 74-72 and Boeheim at the line against with two seconds on the clock. Boeheim made the first, missed the second, and Syracuse held on.

Marek Dolezaj, Joseph Girard III, and Quincy Guerrier joined Boeheim in double figures with 12 points apiece. Guerrier led the Orange on the glass with seven boards and made his presence felt in the paint by tallying five blocks, tying his career high. Girard III dished out a team-best seven assists while Robert Braswell led the Syracuse reserves with seven points.

FROM COACH BOEHEIM
"In the first half, I thought we played the best defense we've played all year long," said Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim. "I also thought that the determination we showed is key. Buddy (Boeheim) missed shots early on that he's been making. Gerry (Coach McNamara) talked to him at halftime and told him to keep going and he knocked some huge shots down. It was a great win."

STARTING OFF STRONG
Syracuse opened the game hot from beyond the arc, tallying the game's first six points on 3-pointers from Boeheim and Girard III in the first two minutes.

A Guerrier layup at the 11:47 mark kicked off a 7-0 scoring run for the 'Cuse that included a layup from Dolezaj and Girard III's third triple of the contest. The stretch gave the Orange a 24-10 advantage with 10:38 left in the half.

West Virginia went on an 8-2 scoring spree to trim the Orange advantage to eight, 32-24, with two minutes left in the period.

Girard III answered back with a long 3-pointer to bring the lead back to double-digits, but the Mountaineers tallied the final five points of the frame on a triple from Miles McBride and a pair of free throws from Emmitt Matthews Jr. to make the Syracuse lead 35-29 at the break.

MOUTAINEERS MAKE IT BACK
The Orange started the second stanza on an 8-2 run that featured triples from Boeheim and Guerrier. After the Mountaineers countered with a pair of field goals, Boeheim buried another 3-pointer to push the margin to 11, 46-35, with three minutes gone in the half.

West Virginia went on an offensive roll over the ensuing four minutes. The Mountaineers tallied nine unanswered points and cut the 'Cuse advantage to two, 46-44, with 12:22 remaining in the contest.

Boeheim increased the Orange lead to eight with back-to-back triples over a 37 second span, but Sean McNeil countered with three-straight 3-pointers, single handedly providing West Virginia nine unanswered point.. It gave the Mountaineers their first lead of the game, 53-52, just past the midway point of the half, and helped set up the dramatic finish.

We're not going anywhere‼️#MarchMadness #Sweet16 🍊 pic.twitter.com/TX8Z8yyO9z
— Syracuse Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) March 21, 2021

NOTABLE NUMBERS

The win gave Syracuse its 20^th appearance in the Sweet Sixteen under head coach Jim Boeheim. The Orange last appeared in the Sweet Sixteen in 2018.
Buddy Boeheim tallied six 3-pointers during the contest, tied for the third-most in program history in a tournament game behind Gerry McNamara's nine against Brigham Young and Boeheim's seven in his most recent outing against San Diego State.
Boeheim's 25 points gave him 55 over two tournament games this year, the third-most through two opening games in the tournament in program history behind Gary Clark in 1957 (60 points) and Gerry McNamara in 2004 (56 points), according to the Elias Sports Bureau. His point total also allowed him to move past James Williams (1,119 points), Andy Rautins (1,121 points), and DeShaun Williams (1,136 points) for sole possession of 53rd place on the program scoring list.
The Orange recorded six blocks in the triumph.

Gallery: (3-21-2021) Syracuse vs. West Virginia

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