Wong, Vasiljevic lead Miami past Syracuse 69-65 in overtime
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Isaiah Wong scored 18 points, including a key 3-pointer in overtime, and the Miami Hurricanes made all six free throws in the extra period to beat Syracuse 69-65 on Saturday.
The Hurricanes saved their best shooting for overtime, when they went 3 for 6. They shot 37 percent for the game and went 10 for 31 from beyond the arc.
Syracuse forward Elijah Hughes, the leading scorer in the Atlantic Coast Conference, took a blow to the head and sat out after halftime. He played all 20 minutes in the first half and scored eight points.
Miami (15-15, 7-13 ACC) broke a three-game losing streak heading into the league tournament. Syracuse (17-14, 10-10) finished at .500 or worse in the conference for the fourth time in the past six years.
Syracuse’s Joe Girard sank a 15-footer with 1 second left to make the score 56-all and force overtime, but the Orange’s first basket in the extra period came with 23 seconds left. They went 0 for 4 from 3-point range in overtime, and 5 for 25 for the game.
Miami won without leading scorer Chris Lykes, who took an elbow to the nose in Wednesday’s loss to Virginia. He suffered facial injuries and likely will miss the ACC Tournament next week.
In Lykes’ absence, Wong helped run the offense. The freshman had four assists and nine rebounds.
Hurricanes senior DJ Vasiljevic, playing his final home game, scored 17 points. Marek Dolezaj led Syracuse with 17 points.
Wong’s 3-pointer gave Miami a 63-58 lead, and teammate Keith Stone’s dunk with 28 seconds left made it 65-60. Kameron McGusty and Vasiljevic each sank two free throws in the final nine seconds to seal the win.
Miami missed 12 consecutive shots against Syracuse’s zone early in the second half and went nearly eight minutes without a field goal before Vasiljevic sank three consecutive 3-pointers for a 39-all tie.
The Hurricanes led 56-54 and had a chance to seal a victory with 9 seconds left in regulation, but Sam Waardenburg missed the front end of a one-and-one. Syracuse drove the length of the floor for Girard’s tying basket.
The Orange shot 2 for 13 from 3-point range in the first half, but the second basket was a buzzer-beater by Buddy Boeheim that left Miami with a 26-24 halftime lead.
BIG PICTURE
The Orange fell to 56-54 in the league in the past six seasons.
The Hurricanes had a season-high 18 assists, including six by Stone.
UP NEXT
Both teams will play in the ACC Tournament next week in Greensboro, North Carolina. Syracuse has a first-round bye.
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