Chuck Harris and Matt Cross both scored 12 points and SMU had a successful debut in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, defeating Syracuse 73-53 in Wednesday night’s second-round game in Charlotte.
SMU’s defense did most of the good work as Syracuse, which had a season-low point total, couldn’t get untracked in the second half. Boopie Miller and Keon Ambrose-Hylton each contributed 10 points for the Mustangs, who are in their first season in the ACC.
SMU needs to string together victories to get into position for an NCAA Tournament bid and this was a good start, beating the Orange for the second week in a row. The sixth-seeded Mustangs (23-9) meet third-seeded Clemson (26-5) in Thursday’s late-night quarterfinal.
J.J. Starling scored 11 of his 16 points in the first half for 14th-seeded Syracuse (14-19). Jyare Davis added 14 points and Eddie Lampkin Jr. had 10 rebounds, but the Orange have never won more than one game in the ACC tournament since joining in 2013-14.
North Carolina 76, Notre Dame 56
Jae’Lyn Withers connected on seven 3-pointers to account for his career-high 21 points and the Tar Heels rolled to a victory against the Fighting Irish in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament’s second round at Charlotte, N.C.
Ven-Allen Lubin provided 17 points and 10 rebounds, and RJ Davis had 13 points for North Carolina, which raced to an early lead and didn’t let up. Withers tied a North Carolina team record for 3-point baskets in the ACC tournament. Fifth-seeded North Carolina (21-12), which has won seven of its last eight games, meets fourth-seeded Wake Forest (21-10) in Thursday afternoon’s quarterfinals.
ACC scoring leader Markus Burton scored 11 points for 12th-seeded Notre Dame (15-18).
Stanford 78, Cal 73
Maxime Raynaud’s 23 points and Jaylen Blakes’ 21 points combined with clutch baskets from backups Benny Gealer and Chisom Okpara enabled the Cardinal to survive their first Atlantic Coast Conference tournament game with a second-round win over the Golden Bears.
Stanford’s late burst countered a 37-point outing by Cal’s Andrej Stojakovic. DJ Campbell’s 19 points and 10 rebounds and Mady Sissoko’s 11 points boosted No. 15 seed Cal (14-19), which shot 52.8 percent from the field. Stojakovic went 13-for-22, which included four 3-pointers.
Seventh-seeded Stanford (20-12), which had a first-round bye, meets No. 13 Louisville (25-6), the second seed, in Thursday night’s quarterfinals. Oziyah Sellers added 13 points and Okpara had 12 points for Stanford.
Georgia Tech 66, Virginia 60
Duncan Powell scored 21 points in his first Atlantic Coast Conference tournament game as the Yellow Jackets defeated the Cavaliers in a second-round contest.
Baye Ndongo provided 16 points and 10 rebounds and Naithan George added 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists as the Yellow Jackets avenged a regular-season loss. Eighth-seeded Georgia Tech (17-15) will face top-seeded Duke (28-3), the No. 1 team in the nation, in the first quarterfinal on Thursday afternoon.
Isaac McKneely led ninth-seeded Virginia (15-17) with 27 points, shooting 7-for-11 on 3-pointers. Playing under interim coach Ron Sanchez, the Cavaliers completed their first losing season in 15 years. He was elevated to the position a few weeks prior to the start of the season after the sudden retirement of coach Tony Bennett.
–Field Level Media
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