SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Alan Griffin made two clutch free throws with four seconds remaining and Syracuse rallied past short-handed NC State 76-73 on Sunday.
Griffin scored 19 points, Buddy Boeheim added 17 and the pair combined for seven 3-pointers. Kadary Richmond added 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including a pair of baskets in the last five minutes.
Richmond hit a tie-breaking jumper at the 5:02 mark as Syracuse (10-5, 4-4 ACC) went ahead 67-65 for a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. Boeheim followed with a 3 on an assist from Griffin.
Richmond added 11 points and Quincy Guerrier 10 points and 10 rebounds.
State (7-6, 3-5) was playing without scoring leader Devon Daniels (16.5 ppg), who tore his ACL on Wednesday, and D.J. Funderburk (11.9 ppg), who did not suit up for what the school called “university policies.”
Jericole Hellems scored a game-high 24 points, 14 after halftime, with nine rebounds for the Wolfpack State. Manny Bates added 17 with 14 rebounds and Braxton Beverly 11 points.
Thomas Allen, fouled on a 3-point attempt, made all three free throws with six seconds left, cutting the gap to 74-73. After Griffin’s two free throws pushed the Syracuse lead to three a couple of seconds later, State missed on a last-second 3-pointer.
Despite playing shorthanded, the Wolfpack built a 47-38 halftime lead with Bates scoring 12 on 5-for-5 shooting, Hellems adding 10 and Beverly nine on 3-for-4 shooting from distance.
Syracuse roared into 58-56 lead midway through the second half after starting the period on a 20-9 run
After closing to 72-70 on a Hellems free throw, N.C. State fouled five times to get the Orange to the line by the 17-second mark. Dolezaj and Griffin closed the scoring with four straight free throws.
The Wolfpack play host to No. 8 Virginia on Wednesday, a game postponed from Jan. 20 by COVID-19 concerns. Syracuse plays host to No. 25 Louisville on Wednesday.
NC A&T 67, Florida A&M 65
GREENSBORO — Blake Harris scored 10 points and his 3-pointer with 9.8 seconds left capped a North Carolina A&T rally in a 67-65 win over Florida A&M on Sunday.
Kamron Reaves missed a 3-pointer as time expired for the Rattlers which once held a 24-point lead in the first half and led 42-23 at the break.
The Aggies (8-9, 4-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) maintained their 27-game home winning streak over conference opponents. Their last loss to a MEAC opponent at home was against Bethune-Cookman on Feb. 27, 2017; a 73-70 defeat.
Kameron Langley added 13 points and 10 assists and Webster Filmore and Tyler Maye each scored 10 points for the Aggies.
MJ Randolph had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Rattlers (2-8, 1-2).
Hofstra 89, UNCW 83
WILMINGTON — Isaac Kante had a season-high 21 points as Hofstra defeated UNC Wilmington 89-83 on Sunday, scoring the last five points of the game in the final two minutes.
Jalen Ray had 18 points for Hofstra (11-6, 7-3 Colonial Athletic Association), which won its fifth consecutive game. Kvonn Cramer, who had 17 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks, had a big dunk after an offensive rebound with 1:45 to play, Caleb Burgess had 15 points, including two free throws with 17 seconds left to make it a two-possession game, and six rebounds.
Mike Okauru scored a career-high 30 points plus nine rebounds and six assists for the Seahawks (7-8, 1-5), who missed three shots in their final two possessions. Jake Boggs added 21 points and six rebounds. Jamahri Harvey had 11 points.
Hofstra defeated UNC Wilmington 82-73 on Saturday.
Delaware 75, Elon 70
NEWARK, Del. — Ryan Allen had a season-high 26 points as Delaware narrowly beat Elon 75-70 on Sunday.
Dylan Painter had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Delaware (7-7, 5-4 Colonial Athletic Association). Kevin Anderson added 13 points. Andrew Carr had 12 points and three blocks. The Blue Hens made 6 of 8 free throws in the final minute.
Hunter McIntosh scored a career-high 30 points and seven assists for the Phoenix (3-5, 0-4), who have now lost five consecutive games. Hunter Woods added 12 points and seven rebounds. Federico Poser had 12 points.
Delaware defeated Elon 66-43 on Saturday.
