Allie Lawhon

Men's Basketball

Syracuse Edges Florida State 66-62 in First Round of 2025 T. Rowe Price ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — J.J. Starling scored 27 points, and Syracuse went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the final five seconds to hold on for a 66-62 victory over Florida State in the first round of the 2025 T. Rowe Price ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament on Tuesday, March 11, at the Spectrum Center.
 
The 14th-seeded Orange (14-18) advance to play No. 6 seed SMU in the second round on Wednesday, March 12.
 
Starling made 12-of-23 shots with three 3-pointers and five rebounds for Syracuse. Eddie Lampkin Jr. had 14 points and nine rebounds and Jyare Davis scored 14 with six boards.
 
Jamir Watkins had 16 points and 11 rebounds to pace the 11th-seeded Seminoles (17-15). Reserves Daquan Davis and Jerry Deng both scored 10.
 
Syracuse turned the ball over and Malique Ewin scored to get Florida State within one point with nine seconds left. Ewin fouled Kyle Cuffe Jr., who made both free throws for a three-point lead.
 
The Orange fouled Daquan Davis with two seconds left to prevent the Seminoles from taking a 3-pointer. Davis made the first, missed the second and Jyare Davis grabbed the rebound and was fouled before hitting two foul shots to seal it.
 
Lampkin scored 12 and grabbed six rebounds to help Syracuse take a 30-26 lead into halftime. Jyare Davis followed his layup with a 3-pointer to give the Orange an 8-4 lead and they never trailed over the final 17 minutes.
 
Starling and Davis had the first two baskets of the second half to stretch the Syracuse lead to eight. Naheem McLeod’s dunk gave the Orange their largest lead at 50-34 with 13:15 remaining.
 
Florida State whittled away until Watkins was fouled on a 3-pointer and made three free throws to get the Seminoles within 62-59 with 48 seconds remaining.
 
Of Note
  • Syracuse becomes just the fifth No. 14 seed to win in the first round of the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament.
  • The 2025 edition of the tournament becomes just the second time in which both the No. 14 and No. 15 seeds advanced to the second round as 15th-seeded California won in double overtime on Tuesday night.
  • Syracuse guard JJ Starling reached the 20-point mark for the 10th time this season, scoring a game-high 27 points in the Orange’s First Round win.
  • Syracuse improves to 6-to 6-9 in all ACC Tournament games and 2-1 in ACC Tournament games played in Charlotte.
  • The Orange saw their lead swell to 16 points with 13:15 remaining in the second half before Florida State went on a 10-0 run that lasted for more than six minutes.
  • Syracuse held the lead for 38:05 throughout the contest, compared to just 32 seconds by Florida State.
  • Florida State’s Jamir Watkins recorded his first double-double of the season, logging 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Seminoles. The 11 rebounds also matches Watkins’ career-high.
  • The loss for Florida State draws Leonard Hamilton’s career to a close. The legendary head coach logged 638 wins throughout his career, including 438 with the Seminoles.