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Syracuse entered the ring against an Atlantic Coast Conference heavyweight for the third time this January. And for most of the night, it matched North Carolina punch for punch. 

The opening two rounds ended in a knockout and a split decision — a 13-0 run couldn’t close a substantial gap versus Virginia before the Orange gave up a roughly 22-minute lead eight days later versus Miami. But the Orange were still standing with 21 seconds left against North Carolina, going up by two off a 3-pointer from Joe Girard III. 

UNC’s Pete Nance was at the free-throw line though, making his first free throw before his second clanked high off the back of the rim. Girard rushed to tip the ball back in from the right side, falling over as he got it back in play. But the ball went right into the hands of Nance, who had followed up his shot, and the easy basket put the Tar Heels up by one.

The final blow came moments later when Judah Mintz was called for a flagrant foul with 10 seconds remaining after a collision with RJ Davis left UNC’s guard with a cut over his eye. North Carolina added another point for insurance. 

“It feels like another one we had,” Jesse Edwards said before snapping, “just not quite.”

Syracuse (13-8, 6-4 ACC) was down by as much as 10 in the second half but came back momentarily in the 72-68 loss to North Carolina (15-6, 7-3 ACC). It only led by as much as two the entire night due to Girard’s late 3. The defeat was the fourth game Syracuse has dropped by four or less points and the fourth Quadrant-I loss of the year. 

“We did everything we could tonight to win this game, it got away at the last second,” head coach Jim Boeheim said. 

For the third-straight game, Syracuse was behind at the Under-16 timeout. Similar to how Virginia utilized Armaan Franklin’s ability from deep, the Tar Heels utilized the duo of Caleb Love and RJ Davis. Davis and Love traded 3-pointers from opposite wings before Armando Bacot located Love again from deep. 

Against Miami, Boeheim replaced Girard and Edwards with Symir Torrence and Mounir Hima to spark the defense. But the solution was more simple against UNC, making sure things “didn’t keep going that way” for the Tar Heels from deep. The wings moved up higher in the zone at times, sometimes having Chris Bell with his heels on the top of the 3-point line. 

“We played really well, defense got better as we played along,” Boeheim said. 

With more defensive pressure, the Orange established a rhythm on both sides of the floor. Edwards sent a layup from Leaky Black into the courtside seats. Mintz launched himself onto the floor twice to pick up charging calls after constantly poking his hands into passing lanes. Girard and Bell also combined for three 3-pointers, cutting North Carolina’s lead to 24-21 with nine minutes left in the first half.

Jesse Edwards shoots over North Carolina’s Bacot. Edwards finished with eight points and seven rebounds in Tuesday’s game against the Tar Heels. Cassandra Roshu | Asst. Photo Editor

The closest SU got within North Carolina’s lead was two points in the first half, which came with 2:06 left in the opening period. Mintz had just scored off the glass on the Orange’s last possession, driving on his own in transition down the right side. On this possession, he got the ball at the top of the key and waited for Davis to react in front of him. Davis didn’t and Mintz, who only scored six 3-pointers before tonight, drilled the shot. 

Syracuse showed off its strength in transition, quickly answering back from a monstrous block-and-dunk possession by North Carolina with Bell lobbing the ball to Edwards for SU’s final points of the period. To start the second half, Edwards blocked Bacot before Girard quickly passed to Williams, who embraced contact as he finished on the right side. Bell dunked it in transition a minute later, tying the game at 38-38. 

The Orange took their first lead roughly two minutes later after a play drawn up for Girard failed. Girard came around from the right baseline to the left arc off a screen from Edwards and without an opening he dished it back to Edwards, who took on Bacot. 

Edwards kept pivoting back-and-forth, eventually laying it in to give SU a 42-41 lead. Girard drew more defenders to him a few possessions later, curling his hands around both to pass to Edwards again, who was completely wide open in the middle of the paint. 

The defense had improved but UNC still traded baskets with the Orange, hitting from deep off a corner 3-pointer from Tyler Nickel in between Edwards’ baskets.

Then, the Orange went cold. Girard missed from deep and Mintz airballed on a baseline jumper. The Tar Heels flustered Girard, leading to a steal from Bacot and a Love layup at the other end. With 12:43 left in the game, North Carolina extended its lead to 10 after Nance nailed a corner 3 with two defenders in his face. 

The Orange moved into a full-court press, one they brought out against Virginia and Miami, and it started to do dividends again. Maliq Brown, who had been quiet for most of the night, rejected a layup from Black after UNC appeared to get past the press. Bell pump-faked and nailed a 3-pointer less than two minutes later, cutting UNC’s lead back to two at the Under-8 timeout. 

Mintz checked back in for Syracuse, immediately sprinting and stopping at the free-throw line, nailing a contested jumper. He then got the free-throw line after being grabbed in transition, hitting both free throws before dropping back on defense. 

Mintz turned his back to the rest of his teammates, watching Nance as he drove into the lane. Nance kicked the ball out but it went right into Mintz’s hands. Mintz took off with two defenders on him, flipping the ball in off the glass and erupting the JMA Wireless Dome crowd in the process. Amongst the cheers was a whistle, but the referee pointed in the other direction. 

Boeheim and Mintz said the play wasn’t a charge. Mintz even made up for it with another layup off the glass a minute later. But for the second-straight week, the freshman was at the forefront of a late Syracuse collapse. 

“Turnovers and two charges, in a close game we can’t have that,” Boeheim said. “That was it.”

Published on January 24, 2023 at 11:38 pm

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