Andy Hancock

Men's Basketball

SMU’s Balanced Attack Sends Mustangs to ACC Quarters After Beating Syracuse 73-53

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Chuck Harris and Matt Cross scored 12 points apiece and sixth-seeded SMU beat No. 14 seed Syracuse 73-53 on Wednesday night in the second round of the 2025 T. Rowe Price ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament.
 
SMU (23-9) advances to play third-seeded Clemson in a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday, March 13.
 
Boopie Miller and backup Keon Ambrose-Hylton each scored 10 points for the Mustangs who shot 53.2% (25-for-47).
 
J.J. Starling scored 16 points and Jyare Davis had 14 for Syracuse (14-19).
 
The Mustangs’ win was in stark contrast to their March 4 home win over Syracuse when they led for only 1:28 and needed a tip-in from Ambrose-Hylton with 2.9 seconds left to seal a 77-75 win.
 
On Wednesday, SMU started the second half with a 7-0-run and recorded its first double-digit lead to make it 38-28 when Harris hit a jumper with 16:20 left in regulation. The Mustangs maintained a safe distance and extended the lead to 53-38 on B.J. Edwards’ layup with 6:07 remaining.
 
The largest lead of the first half belonged to SMU when Kario Oquendo buried a 3-pointer with 1:52 left to give the Mustangs a 31-22 advantage. Syracuse quickly countered with 3’s from Starling and Davis in a 40-second span. SMU led 31-28 at halftime.
 
The Orange got its largest first-half lead at 5-0 in the game’s first minute-and-a-half.
 
Of Note
  • Wednesday night’s game was SMU’s first-ever appearance in the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament.
  • All three ACC newcomers – California, Stanford and SMU – won their first-ever ACC Tournament contests. Stanford and SMU will meet in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 13, at 9:30 p.m. ET.
  • SMU moves to 2-0 against Syracuse this season after winning the regular season affair, 77-75, on March 4 in Dallas.
  • The 53 points allowed by the Mustangs are the third-fewest throughout the season and the fewest since January 25 (57, at NC State).
  • The Mustangs held Syracuse to 53 total points on Wednesday, nearly 20 points below their opponent’s scoring average for the season.
  • SMU closed the game by connecting on each of its last seven field goal attempts and raising its field goal percentage to 53%.
  • The Mustangs finished with four players scoring in double figures, led by Matt Cross and Chuck Harris, who contributed 12 points apiece.