Griffin, Boeheim lead Syracuse rally, 76-73 over N.C. State

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Alan Griffin made two clutch free throws with four seconds remaining and Syracuse rallied past short-handed N.C. State 76-73 on Sunday night.

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 Atlantic Coast Conference) went ahead 67-65 for a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Boeheim followed with a 3 on an assist from Griffin.

Marek Dolezaj added 11 points and Quincy Guerrier 10 points and 10 rebounds.

N.C. 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 N.C. 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, N.C. State missed on a last-second 3-pointer.

Despite playing short-handed, 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.

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