Syracuse men’s basketball edges Miami in 72-69 buzzer-beater win Saturday

Syracuse men’s basketball (13-5, 4-3 in Atlantic Coast Conference) snuck by Miami (12-6, 3-4 in Atlantic Coast Conference) 72-69 at the buzzer Saturday. The win not only pushed the Orange over .500 in the conference, but marked the program’s first over the Hurricanes in three years. SU guard Quadir Copeland’s last second shot gave Syracuse its first buzzer-beater win since John Gillon lifted the Orange over Duke in 2017.

Outside of some slim early Miami leads, the Orange and Hurricanes were deadlocked until the final seconds. With the game on the line, the ball was in the hands of SU star guard Judah Mintz a few feet behind the three-point line. As time winded down, Mintz took off towards the right side wing. After using a screen from forward Maliq Brown, Mintz picked up his dribble just inside the arch and faced a double team. With less than three seconds on the clock, Mintz hurled an overhead pass to Quadir Copeland on the left wing. Copeland quickly heaved an off-balance three-pointer, and as the game-clock hit triple zeros the sophomore’s contested shot found the bottom of the net.

After the game, head coach of the Orange Adrian Autry jokingly broke down his team’s final play.

“That was the play I drew up,” Autry said. “They ran it exactly the way I told them.”

Copeland finished the game shooting just two-of-nine, but when needed most he connected on his only made three-pointer of the afternoon.

For a majority of the contest, Syracuse guard J.J. Starling led the way for the Orange finishing with a season-high 22 points. The sophomore started off the matchup still in rhythm from SU’s previous outing.

“I thought J.J. was phenomenal right from the beginning,” Autry said. “He was locked in, he was ready. I thought we found him, and he took advantage of it.”

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The sophomore’s scoring explosion came on the back of another dynamic 17-points in SU’s win over Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Towards the beginning of the season, Starling, a Notre Dame transfer, struggled to find his way into the offense. Autry said he’s noticed a difference in his guard lately.

“He’s been locked in,” Autry said. “‘Not hesitating, he’s been confident and just out there making plays.”

Starling’s performance from behind the arch kept the Orange stride for stride with a Hurricanes team that at times refused to miss. The Baldwinsville native went six-of-ten from three-point range, including two momentum-changing makes down the stretch. Those six long-range scores were also a personal season-high.

On the other side of the backcourt, Judah Mintz set personal records and neared history in the stat sheet. The Orange’s star guard tallied 10 points, 13 assists (career-high), and 8 rebounds, finishing just two boards shy of a triple-double. Not only would that’ve been a first for Mintz, but also a first for the program since 2001. The last player to record a triple-double for the Orange was current Syracuse assistant coach Allen Griffin.

“He controlled the game,” said Autry. “He made the right plays, and he took what the defense gave him. He gets a lot of attention, and we talk about that. So that’s how he can impact the game, he doesn't always have to score 20, but he can generate more than 20 with his passing ability.”

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With the last second win over Miami, SU moves over .500 in the ACC for the first time this season. Next up on the docket is another home matchup against Florida State (11-7, 5-2 ACC) on Tuesday. Before the Seminoles’ loss to Clemson on Saturday, FSU had won five straight contests all against ACC opponents. WAER’s coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Tipoff.