Syracuse holds on to beat North Carolina State 87-83 after a frantic finish

RALEIGH, N.C. -- — Chris Bell scored all 26 of his points in the first half, backup Quadir Copeland added a career-high 25 points and Syracuse spoiled North Carolina State's second-half rally, beating the Wolfpack 87-83 in a frantic finish Tuesday night.

Copeland broke an 83-all tie with 20 seconds left on two foul shots after getting fouled by DJ Horne. Out of a timeout, Horne failed to draw a foul call on Copeland with a leaning and flailing shot attempt.

Judah Mintz secured the rebound for Syracuse. Casey Morsell fouled him and Mintz sank two foul shots with five seconds to go to seal the win for the Orange (17-10, 8-8).

Syracuse led 55-40 at halftime with the help of Bell, who shot 8 for 9 from 3-point range while the Orange made 61.3% of their shots. North Carolina State staged a gradual rally and took its first lead of the second half when reserve Ben Middlebrooks made a pair for an 82-81 lead with 3:21 remaining.

Mintz, a sophomore, scored all 15 of his points after halftime to move past 1,000 for his career, becoming the 66th player in Orange history to do so. Mintz accomplished the feat in 59 games, tied for seventh fastest in program history. JJ Starling scored 13 points for Syracuse, which made 18 of 19 foul shots.

Horne scored 32 points, two points short of his career high, and DJ Burns Jr. and Middlebrooks each scored 12 for North Carolina State (16-10, 8-7). Middlebrooks also grabbed 10 rebounds, with six on the offensive end.

The Wolfpack made 24 of 29 foul shots.

Both teams play Saturday as Syracuse hosts Notre Dame and the Wolfpack welcome Boston College.

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