CHARLOTTE — Boopie Miller poured in 25 points and Jaron Pierre Jr. pumped in 21 points as SMU had a big second half to pull away from Syracuse, winning 86-69 in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament’s first round and ending a four-game losing streak Tuesday.
Eleventh seed SMU (20-12) faces No. 24 Louisville, the sixth seed, in Wednesday’s second round.
Jaden Toombs provided 16 points, 11 rebounds and six assists and Samet Yigitoglu and Corey Washington both posted 12 points for the Mustangs, who avenged a one-point, regular-season road loss to the Orange. Yigitoglu added 11 rebounds as SMU beat Syracuse 44-31 on the boards.
All five SMU starters reached double figures shortly after the midway mark of the second half. Miller and Pierre each made five 3s, with the duo accounting for all except one of the team’s 11 long-range baskets.
Syracuse (15-17) ended the season on a six-game losing streak. Nate Kingz scored 25 points for the Orange, but he didn’t score in the final eight-plus minutes. Tyler Betsey’s 15 points off the bench gave Syracuse its only other double-figure scorer.
The Orange shot 9 for 34 on 3-pointers and went to the free-throw line only five times in the game’s first 34 minutes.
The Orange concluded their third season under coach Adrian Autry, a Syracuse alum who replaced legendary Jim Boeheim and hasn’t gotten the team back to the NCAA Tournament.
Miller hit two 3-pointers early in the second half as the Mustangs stretched their lead to 51-42. SMU maintained the offensive pace with 25 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half while stretching its advantage to 64-48, partly courtesy of back-to-back 3s from Pierre.
Kingz had 25 of Syracuse’s first 50 points. Syracuse got within 76-66 with three minutes to play before Pierre drained another 3.
SMU led 39-38 at halftime, with Syracuse staying close despite only two points from Donnie Freeman, its leading scorer on the season. Freeman finished with seven before fouling out.
–Bob Sutton, Field Level Media
