Field Level Media
Mar 7, 2020
Isaiah Wong scored 18 points to lead host Miami to a 69-65 victory over Syracuse on Saturday in the final Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season game for both teams.
Wong's two free throws and Kameron McGusty's jumper in the first 57 seconds of overtime put Miami (15-15, 7-13 ACC) ahead for good at 60-56.
The Orange (17-14, 10-10) got to within 65-63 after Quincy Guerrier split two free throws with 10 seconds left. McGusty and Dejan Vasiljevic converted two free throws each in the final 10 seconds to clinch the win for Miami, which snapped a three-game losing streak.
Vasiljevic scored 17 points and converted 5-of-13 3-point attempts. McGusty was Miami's third double figure scorer with 13 points.
Marek Dolezaj scored 17 points and Joseph Girard added 13 for the Orange.
Syracuse forward Elijah Hughes, the ACC's leading scorer with 19.1 points per game, finished with eight but didn't play in the second half.
The Orange rallied from a four-point deficit with 10 seconds remaining in regulation and forced overtime on Girard's running jumper with one second left that tied it at 56.
Wong's two free throws with 16 seconds left put Miami ahead 56-52 before Girard's layup cut it to 56-54 six seconds later.
Miami's Sam Waardenburg had an opportunity to give Miami another two-possession lead but missed the front end of a one-on-one attempt with nine seconds left.
Miami played without leading scorer Chris Lykes. The junior guard, who averages 15.2 points per game, sustained an injury to his face in the Hurricanes' 46-44 home loss to Virginia Wednesday.
The Hurricanes missed 12 straight shots during a field goal drought of eight minutes early in the second half. Vasiljevic's 3-pointer with 11:39 remaining ended the shooting skid.
Despite Miami's early second half struggles, Syracuse couldn't capitalize with any extended runs. Vasiljevic's conversion from beyond the arc tied it at 33-33.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half. Miami shot 33 percent from the field and Syracuse didn't fare much better at 35 percent.
Wong's jumper with 4:57 remaining gave the Hurricanes their largest lead of the first half at 22-16.
The Orange missed seven consecutive shots from beyond the arc before Buddy Boeheim's 3-pointer with five seconds remaining cut Miami's lead to 26-24 at halftime.
--FIeld Level Media