North Carolina Edges Syracuse, 72-68

Tuesday, January 24

Syracuse, N.Y.

9 PM

Syracuse University

13-8,6-4ACC

North Carolina

15-6,7-3ACC

North Carolina

Syracuse

1/24/2023 11:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Jim Boeheim Press Conference Joseph Girard III Interview Highlights

North Carolina (15-6, 7-3) scored the game's final six points to turn away a strong Syracuse (13-8, 6-4) effort, 72-68, in front of the 20,761 in the JMA Wireless Dome on Tuesday night.

Joseph Girard III, who had given the Orange a 68-66 lead on a 3-pointer with 1:23 left, finished with a squad-best 18 points. Judah Mintz (17 points) and Chris Bell (15 points) rounded out the Orange performers in double-digits. Jesse Edwards accumulated eight points, seven rebounds and five blocks before fouling out.

HOW THE GAME WAS DECIDED
Following Girard's dramatic 3-pointer, North Carolina's Pete Nance made one-of-two from the foul line. His second miss was rebounded by Syracuse but turned over and Nance layed it in to put the Tar Heels ahead, 69-68. Mintz drove the ball to the basket but was whistled for a charge and a flagrant foul on the play. Caleb Love sank one of two free throws and the Tar Heels retained possession. Love was fouled again and his two free throws with 10 seconds left secured the Tar Heel triumph.

QUICK CAROLINA START
The Tar Heels scored 13 of the first 17 points in the game, with six of the points coming on 3-pointers from Love. North Carolina led by nine two more times -- 17-8 and 22-13 -- before the Orange got back into the contest. Five points from Girard and a 3-pointer by Bell shaved the Ornage deficit to 3, 24-21, with 9:13 left before the intermission. A 3-pointer from Mintz had Syracuse within two, 34-32, before the teams entered the break with the Heels up, 38-34.

Girard and Carolina's Armando Bacot each had 12 points at halftime.

SECOND HALF TIES AND RUNS
The final 20 minutes featured three ties and six lead changes. Syracuse used baskets from Benny Williams and Bell to tie the contest, 38-38, less than two minutes into the period. After Nance answered with two free throws, Mintz knotted the score again with layup. Bacot converted a free throw and Edwards then put the Orange up for the first time, 42-41, with a basket in the paint.

Edwards tied the game for the third time in the second half, 44-44, with a dunk off a feed from Girard.. The Tar Heels scored 12 of the next 14 points across the following three minutes. Pete Nance and Armando Bacot evenly split 10 points for the visitors. Nance's 3-pointer gave UNC a comfortable, 10-point advantage, 56-46.

Syracuse wasn't finished. Mintz hit a jumper in the lane and followed with two free throws to put the Orange ahead, 63-62, with 4:14 left. His effort set up the frantic finish.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

Nance paced North Carolina with a 21-point outing, while Bacot ended up with 18 points and eight rebounds.
The Tar Heels own a 16-5 record in the all-time series against the Orange.
UNC has won three of the last five pairings with SU.
Girard (1,493 points) shuffled past Kris Joseph (1,476), Louis Orr (1,487), and Pearl Washington (1,490) into 27th on the Syracuse career scoring index

UP NEXT
The Orange hit the road for their second pairing of the season against Virginia Tech on Saturday, Jan. 28. Tip-off in Blacksburg, Va. is slated for 7:00 p.m., and the game will air live on the ACC Network.

TICKETS
Syracuse men's basketball tickets are available online (cuse.com/tickets), by phone (1-888-DOMETIX), and at the Dome Box Office (Gate B).