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GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - Elijah Hughes scored 27 points and Syracuse dominated the opening half to build a big lead on the way to beating North Carolina 81-53 in Wednesday's second round of the New York Life Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

Hughes had 18 points by the break, including a contested jumper in the final seconds to cap Syracuse’s 15-0 run to close the half. That pushed Syracuse to a 43-22 lead, a margin that never dipped below 16 in the second half as the Orange (18-14) emphatically ended a nine-game losing streak to the Tar Heels (14-19).

Buddy Boeheim added 17 points for Syracuse, which jumped to a 7-0 lead in the first 72 seconds and never looked back. The Orange finished the game shooting 47% and scored 27 points off 18 turnovers by UNC.

Garrison Brooks scored 18 points for the 14th-seeded Tar Heels, who missed 23 of 31 shots - including all seven 3-point tries - in the opening half as Syracuse took over. Potential one-and-done point guard Cole Anthony, averaging 19.1 points, managed just five points on 2-for-10 shooting.

Even with a home-state crowd backing them, the Tar Heels got as close only as 57-41 in the second half on Leaky Black's three-point play at the 11:51 mark. Boeheim responded with an immediate 3-pointer, ending a feeble rally that turned out to be the Tar Heels' best of the night as Syracuse eventually pushed the margin to 30 late.

The Tar Heels finished the game shooting 33%, including 2 for 16 on 3-pointers.

The game was the last of four second-rounders Wednesday -- and the last with most fans in attendance.

The ACC has announced it will not allow the general public into tournament games starting Thursday amid concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus that has become a global pandemic.

That means the quarterfinals - featuring No. 4 Florida State, No. 10 Duke, No. 15 Louisville and No. 17 Virginia - will take place with only essential tournament personnel, teams, player guests, limited school administrators and credentialed media present.

BIG PICTURE

UNC: The Tar Heels entered this tournament as an oddity, a team that reached as high as No. 5 in the AP Top 25 poll in November only to own the lowest seed in this week's tournament after a dizzying array of injuries, blown leads and close losses. They had won four of five coming in, including a win at Syracuse on Feb. 29 and Tuesday's first-round romp against Virginia Tech. But UNC shot terribly, was sloppy with the ball and never slowed Hughes to put itself in an early insurmountable hole that capped the first losing season of Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams' 32-year career as a head coach.

Syracuse: The Orange entered the tournament with uncertain NCAA Tournament prospects, but Jim Boeheim's club will get a chance to earn a marquee win to help its case by advancing past a team that had given it fits. Syracuse earned its first win against UNC since January 2014.

NOTES
Syracuse (18-14) advances to Thursday’s 9 p.m. quarterfinal game versus No. 3 seed Louisville (24-7). The Cardinals defeated the Orange 90-66 when the teams met at Louisville on Feb. 19.
 
Syracuse improved to 3-5 all-time in the ACC Tournament and 1-1 in Greensboro.
 
North Carolina (14-19) slipped to 102-48 all time in the ACC Tournament and to 40-19 in tournament games played in Greensboro.
 
The No. 6 seed is now 4-0 all-time versus the No. 14 seed in ACC Tournament play.
 
Syracuse snapped a nine-game losing streak versus UNC and avenged a 92-79 loss to the Tar Heels at the Carrier Dome on Feb. 29.
 
The Orange have won their first game in the ACC Tournament each of the past three seasons.
 
Syracuse junior Elijah Hughes led all scorers with 27 points and has scored in double figures in 30 of 32 games this season. Hughes entered the game as the ACC’s leading scorer (18.8 ppg). Hughes has scored at least 20 points in 15 of his last 29 games.
 
Orange center Bourama Sidibe posted his seventh career double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. It was his second double-double of the season versus the Tar Heels (17 points, 15 rebounds in the regular-season game Feb. 29).
 
Syracuse sophomore Buddy Boeheim (17 points) has made multiple 3-pointers in each of his last four games and ranks among the nation’s leaders with 97 threes on the year.
 
Junior Garrison Brooks led UNC with 18 points. Brooks averaged 23.4 points over the final eight games of the season and ended the year nine points shy of 1,000 for his career.
 
Leaky Black’s 14 points for the Tar Heels were a career high.