Syracuse splashes buzzer-beating 3 to send Miami to fourth loss in five games

Syracuse won its ninth game in nine tries at the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday in dramatic fashion.

Reserve guard Quadir Copeland floated out to the left wing as Judah Mintz had his drive cut off. Mintz stopped as the clock ticked under 3 seconds and threw a skip pass over the defense to Copeland, who then caught with less than 2 seconds on the clock and rose to splash a buzzer-beating triple for a 72-69 win over the visiting Miami Hurricanes.

Copeland scored 11 points in the game in 30 minutes off the bench. Entering Saturday’s game, he’d hit only five triples all season. His only 3 of the day gave Syracuse — which trailed for 28 minutes and 57 seconds on Saturday — a lead when it mattered most.

And it also sent Miami to a fourth loss in its last five games.

The Hurricanes were without Norchard Omier, their leading scorer and rebounder, who was out with an undisclosed lower-body injury. Nijel Pack led the way offensively with 19 points on 19 shots. Matthew Cleveland added 16 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists on 17 shots.

Miami was c

onstantly on the front foot, but it was never quite able to pull away from Syracuse. Despite all the time spent in the lead, Syracuse kept it within single digits all afternoon.

JJ Starling led Syracuse with 22 points. Chris Bell added 12 while Mintz had 10 points and a career-high 13 assists. Malik Brown supplied 10 points and 11 rebounds to give the Orange five in double-figures.

Miami shot 49% compared to 40% for Syracuse. But the Orange won the extra points. They made 12 triples compared to eight from Miami, and they connected on 10-of-15 free throws while limiting Miami to just five total free throw attempts.

The Hurricanes opened the season 11-2 and 2-0 in conference play. They now sit at 12-6 following the loss.