Judah Mintz scored 21 points and Syracuse pulled out an 88-85 win over Notre Dame on Saturday after nearly giving up a 29-point lead on “Jim Boeheim Day.” It looked like it would be a game-long party after Syracuse (18-10, 9-8 ACC) rolled to a 29-point lead late in the first half only to see Notre Dame (10-17, 5-11) rally behind freshmen Markus Burton and Braeden Shrewsberry, who combined for 38 second-half points. Shrewsberry's sixth 3-pointer with two minutes remaining followed by another 3 from Julian Roper II a minute later got the Fighting Irish to 86-83.
Judah Mintz scored 25 points, including 16 in the second half, and JJ Starling had 13 of his 23 points in the second half as Syracuse stunned No. 7 North Carolina 86-79 on Tuesday night. The loss was North Carolina’s third in five games. “This game, obviously, was the best game we’ve played all year,” said Syracuse first-year coach Adrian Autry.
Joe Girard III scored 18 points to reach 2,000 in his career to lead Clemson to a 77-68 win over Syracuse Saturday afternoon in his first game on the court he called home for four seasons. Girard scored 1,652 career points for the Orange. A four-year starter at Syracuse, he transferred to Clemson following coach Jim Boeheim's retirement last season.
Chris Bell scored a career-high 30 points and made eight 3-pointers, Quadir Copeland was credited with a basket after a goaltending call with 3.8 seconds left, and Syracuse edged Louisville 94-92 on Tuesday night. Syracuse (15-8, 6-6 ACC) has won five of the last six meetings with Louisville (7-16, 2-10). Copeland went 1 of 2 from the free-throw line with 14.7 seconds left to give Syracuse a 92-89 lead, but Skyy Clark rattled in a contested 3-pointer at the other end to tie it.