Reserve Quadir Copeland hits buzzer-beating 3-pointer as Syracuse stuns Miami

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Reserve Quadir Copeland scored 11 points and his 3-pointer from the left wing as time expired lifted Syracuse to a 72-69 win over Miami on Saturday.

On the play, Judah Mintz got stopped on his drive to the right then threw a cross-court past to an open Copeland who buried just his sixth 3-pointer of the season. The basket equaled the largest lead of the game for the Orange.

Syracuse is (13-5, 4-3 ACC) undefeated at home (9-0) for the first time in nine seasons.

Miami (12-6, 3-4) led most of the game but never by more than eight. The Hurricanes entered having won the last three in the series by a total of eight points.

JJ Starling led Syracuse with 22 points, Chris Bell had 12 and Copeland 11. Mintz had 10 points and a career-high 13 assists and Malik Brown 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Nijel Pack had 19 points to surpass 1,500 for his career to lead the Hurricanes. Matt Cleveland had 16 with 12 rebounds and Kyshawn George had 10 as the freshman scored Miami’s last seven points.

The Hurricanes were without Norchard Omier, their leading scorer and rebounder, who was out with an undisclosed lower body injury.

Wooga Poplar hit a 3 and Cleveland followed with a dunk for a 55-48 Miami lead with 7:47 left. Starling’s 3-pointer tied the game at 59, and after a 3 by Miami’s Bensley Joseph, Bell had a 3 and Brown made a dunk for a 64-62 Syracuse lead. The Orange had not led since 21-20.

George tied it with a layup and made another after Copeland’s layup.

Starling hit his sixth 3-pointer from the right corner with 1:55 to go, but George banked in a deep straightway 3 at 1:17.

Both teams missed setting up Copeland’s heroics for Syracuse’s first buzzer-beating win since a 78-75 win over Duke on Feb. 22 2017.

Miami shot 49% but was 8 of 23 from 3-point range and just 3 of 5 from the foul line. Syracuse shot 40% but was 12 of 32 on 3s and 10 of 15 on free throws.

Cleveland hit 5 of 8 shots and scored 10 points to help Miami pull out a 31-30 lead at the half. The Hurricanes shot 51% despite going 1 of 9 from 3-point range. Syracuse shot better from long range (6 of 17) than inside the arc (5 of 15). Starling led the way, going 3 of 5 behind the arc.

There were five ties and four lead changes. Starling’s 3-pointer gave Syracuse a 21-20 lead but Pack answered that and also had a layup as the Hurricanes scored nine straight for a 29-21 lead, the largest of the game to that point. Bell and Starling drained 3’s and after Cleveland’s dunk, Benny Williams made a 3 to make it a one-point game at the break.

Florida State is at Syracuse on Tuesday, Miami is at Notre Dame on Wednesday.

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