Syracuse gets first-ever ACC Tournament victory
Syracuse guard Frank Howard is congratulated by coaches as he comes off the floor during the second half against Wake Forest in the Atlantic Coast Conference men's tournament Tuesday, March 6, 2018, at Barclays Center. Credit: AP / Julie Jacobson
A little snow in the air; a little Orange in the stands. It wasn’t the Carrier Dome in the heart of Central New York’s snowbelt, but Syracuse felt right at home not far from the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn.
The Orange finally got its first ACC Tournament victory in school history, turning back Wake Forest, 73-64, Tuesday night in a first-round game at Barclays Center. No. 11 seed Syracuse (20-12), 0-3 in ACC Tournament games since leaving the Big East Conference, will face No. 6 seed North Carolina Wednesday night at 9, likely needing another victory to move off the bubble and into the NCAA Tournament.
“We had a great strength of schedule. We won on the road this year. We’ve done some good things,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. “But there will be very tough calls for the [tournament] committee.”
The Orange’s opening statement to the Selection Committee featured a career-best 20-point performance by 6-9 Slovakian forward Marek Dolezaj, who hit 6 of 7 field-goal attempts and 8 of 10 free throws.
“Marek was tremendous getting to open spots,” Boeheim said. “They left him open spots in the middle of the zone and he converted. And in the fast-break situation, he took the ball to the basket.”
Two of the biggest plays of the game came in transition. After Wake Forest cut a 15-point second-half deficit to six at 62-56, guard Tyus Battle (18 points) came down on a fast break and lobbed the ball to 7-2 Paschal Chukwu, who dunked for an eight-point lead. The Demon Deacons cut it to six again and this time it was Dolezaj in a two-on-one with less than a minute-and-a-half to play. He could’ve pulled it out and run more clock, but instead drove to the basket and lobbed it to Chukwu (14 points, 6-for-7 on close-range shots) for another alley-oop dunk, this one the clincher with 1:24 left.
“He’s been catching those in practice and he’s got to get some in the game,” said guard Frank Howard, solid with 11 points, five assists and three steals. Oshae Brissett scored 10 points with nine rebounds as all five starters were in double figures and all contributed to a strong defensive effort as well. The Orange’s trademark 2-3 zone limited Wake Forest to 6-for-29 from downtown and just 35.9 percent overall from the field.
“Our defense played well; we got them off their spots on the three-point line,” Boeheim said. “This was a really good win.”
Syracuse will need another one against North Carolina on Wednesday night or the bubble likely will burst.
n Irish hang on
No. 10 seed Notre Dame held off Pittsburgh, 67-64, in the second game of the day session. Bonzie Colson scored 19 points, including two clutch free throws after the Panthers cut a 12-point halftime deficit to two with 22 seconds left. Matt Farrell (18 points) hit two more free throws before Pitt’s Parker Steward sank a three at the buzzer . . . In the opener, Boston College got a double-double from Ky Bowman (26 points, 10 rebounds) and cruised past Georgia Tech, 87-77. Tadric Jackson scored 29 points for Georgia Tech.
