SMU's balanced attack sends Mustangs to ACC quarters after beating Syracuse 73-53

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- — 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 ACC Tournament.

SMU (23-9) advances to play third-seeded Clemson in a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday.

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 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. The Mustangs maintained 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.

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