Syracuse stuns No. 7 North Carolina 86-79 behind Judah Mintz and JJ Starling's strong second half
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) Judah Mintz scored 25 points, including 16 in the second half, and JJ Starling had 13 of his 23 points in the second half as Syracuse stunned No. 7 North Carolina 86-79 on Tuesday night.
The raucous home crowd rushed the court to celebrate the program’s first win over a Top 10 team since a 95-91 overtime win over Duke in 2019.
The Orange shot 63% from the field and 47% from 3. The loss was North Carolina’s third in five games.
“This game, obviously, was the best game we’ve played all year,” said Syracuse first-year coach Adrian Autry. “Judah and JJ really stepped up big, but everybody who stepped on the court had a hand in the victory."
North Carolina (19-6, 11-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) missed its first 10 shots of the second half and fell behind 52-43 but rallied and took a 65-64 lead on a layup by RJ Davis with 7:16 to go. But the Orange (16-9, 7-7), which suffered a 103-67 loss at Chapel Hill last month, was not to be denied.
“We showed that we got heart,” Mintz said. “I think we’ve been showing that all year."
“We wouldn’t have won if we didn’t think we could win it,” he added. “We’re a confident group no matter how the odds are stacked against us. It’s great to get the win for the program.”
Starling hit a desperation 3-point bank shot to reclaim the Orange lead at 67-65 with under seven minutes to go. Mintz hit a layup, jumper and two foul shots to give the Orange a 73-67 margin, and Starling hit another 3 to give Syracuse a 76-69 lead following a Harrison Ingram jumper with under three to go.
“This is big-time for sure,” said Starling, who hails from nearby Baldwinsville. “We needed it. ... One game against them showed that it wasn’t us. This showed what we’re capable of.”
Maliq Brown had 14 points and six rebounds for Syracuse and Chris Bell chipped in with 13.
Davis led North Carolina with 19 points. Cormac Ryan had 18, and Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram had 14 apiece.
“We didn’t play well enough to win, we've just got to get better. They shot 63% from field. Very few teams in the country you can beat especially on the road when they shoot that well," North Carolina coach Hubert Davis said. “You have to compliment Syracuse. They stepped up and made big plays and big shots. At the end of the day you just have to step up and make plays, we just didn’t, we didn’t make enough. We’ll go back and look at the tape and work hard, get better and move forward to the next game.”
BIG PICTURE
North Carolina: North Carolina will have to clean up its defense moving forward it wants to have a high seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Syracuse: This was the win Syracuse was looking for and gives the team momentum heading down the stretch.
UP NEXT
North Carolina: Host Virginia Tech on Saturday.
Syracuse: Visit Georgia Tech on Saturday.
---
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 Basketball Polls throughout the season. Sign up here ---
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
Copyright 2025 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | Armando Bacot vs. Maliq Brown (Tar Heels gains possession) | |||
19:39 | Armando Bacot misses two point jump shot | |||
19:37 | Tar Heels offensive rebound | |||
19:28 | +3 | Cormac Ryan makes three point jump shot (RJ Davis assists) | 3-0 | |
19:09 | +3 | Chris Bell makes three point jump shot (Maliq Brown assists) | 3-3 | |
18:54 | Maliq Brown blocks Armando Bacot's two point layup | |||
18:52 | Armando Bacot offensive rebound | |||
18:46 | +2 | Armando Bacot makes two point layup | 5-3 | |
18:33 | +3 | Maliq Brown makes three point jump shot (Judah Mintz assists) | 5-6 | |
18:16 | Elliot Cadeau turnover (bad pass) (Maliq Brown steals) | |||
18:06 | Judah Mintz misses two point jump shot | |||
18:04 | Maliq Brown offensive rebound | |||
17:59 | +2 | Maliq Brown makes two point layup | 5-8 | |
17:51 | RJ Davis offensive foul | |||
17:51 | RJ Davis turnover (offensive foul) | |||
17:22 | J.J. Starling misses three point jump shot | |||
17:20 | Armando Bacot defensive rebound | |||
16:59 | Chris Bell shooting foul (Cormac Ryan draws the foul) | |||
16:59 | +1 | Cormac Ryan makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 6-8 | |
16:59 | +1 | Cormac Ryan makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 7-8 | |
16:35 | +2 | Chris Bell makes two point jump shot | 7-10 | |
16:14 | Elliot Cadeau misses two point layup | |||
16:12 | Judah Mintz defensive rebound | |||
16:04 | +3 | Maliq Brown makes three point jump shot (Judah Mintz assists) | 7-13 | |
15:35 | Cormac Ryan misses two point layup | |||
15:33 | Maliq Brown defensive rebound | |||
15:26 | Harrison Ingram shooting foul (Justin Taylor draws the foul) | |||
15:26 | TV timeout | |||
15:26 | Justin Taylor misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
15:26 | +1 | Justin Taylor makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 7-14 | |
15:12 | +2 | Harrison Ingram makes two point jump shot (Cormac Ryan assists) | 9-14 | |
14:51 | Chris Bell misses two point jump shot | |||
14:49 | Armando Bacot defensive rebound | |||
14:33 | Harrison Ingram misses three point jump shot | |||
14:31 | Chris Bell defensive rebound | |||
14:21 | +2 | Judah Mintz makes two point jump shot | 9-16 | |
14:21 | Harrison Ingram shooting foul (Judah Mintz draws the foul) | |||
14:21 | +1 | Judah Mintz makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 9-17 | |
14:05 | +2 | Jae'Lyn Withers makes two point jump shot (Armando Bacot assists) | 11-17 | |
14:01 | Quadir Copeland offensive foul | |||
14:01 | Quadir Copeland turnover (offensive foul) | |||
13:46 | RJ Davis misses three point jump shot | |||
13:44 | Maliq Brown defensive rebound | |||
13:29 | +2 | J.J. Starling makes two point jump shot | 11-19 | |
13:08 | Cormac Ryan misses three point jump shot | |||
13:06 | Judah Mintz defensive rebound | |||
12:55 | +2 | Quadir Copeland makes two point layup (Judah Mintz assists) | 11-21 | |
12:38 | Cormac Ryan misses three point jump shot | |||
12:36 | Justin Taylor defensive rebound | |||
12:10 | Judah Mintz misses three point jump shot | |||
12:08 | Cormac Ryan defensive rebound | |||
12:00 | +2 | Armando Bacot makes two point layup (Cormac Ryan assists) | 13-21 | |
11:31 | +2 | J.J. Starling makes two point jump shot | 13-23 | |
11:10 | Maliq Brown shooting foul (Armando Bacot draws the foul) | |||
11:10 | TV timeout | |||
11:10 | +1 | Armando Bacot makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 14-23 | |
11:10 | +1 | Armando Bacot makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 15-23 | |
10:45 | Judah Mintz misses two point jump shot | |||
10:43 | Seth Trimble defensive rebound | |||
10:37 | +3 | Cormac Ryan makes three point jump shot (Elliot Cadeau assists) | 18-23 | |
10:11 | J.J. Starling misses two point jump shot | |||
10:09 | Armando Bacot defensive rebound | |||
10:03 | Armando Bacot turnover (lost ball) (Maliq Brown steals) | |||
10:03 | Armando Bacot personal foul | |||
9:45 | +3 | Chris Bell makes three point jump shot (Maliq Brown assists) | 18-26 | |
9:21 | Cormac Ryan misses three point jump shot | |||
9:19 | Chris Bell defensive rebound | |||
8:57 | +2 | Quadir Copeland makes two point layup | 18-28 | |
8:49 | +2 | Cormac Ryan makes two point layup | 20-28 | |
8:24 | Jae'Lyn Withers personal foul | |||
8:20 | Quadir Copeland misses three point jump shot | |||
8:18 | Jae'Lyn Withers defensive rebound | |||
8:11 | Cormac Ryan turnover (lost ball) (Quadir Copeland steals) | |||
8:02 | +2 | J.J. Starling makes two point layup | 20-30 | |
7:51 | +2 | Jae'Lyn Withers makes two point layup (RJ Davis assists) | 22-30 | |
7:22 | J.J. Starling turnover | |||
7:22 | TV timeout | |||
7:00 | Quadir Copeland personal foul | |||
6:54 | +3 | Jalen Washington makes three point jump shot (Cormac Ryan assists) | 25-30 | |
6:33 | +2 | Judah Mintz makes two point jump shot | 25-32 | |
6:20 | J.J. Starling shooting foul (Elliot Cadeau draws the foul) | |||
6:20 | +1 | Elliot Cadeau makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 26-32 | |
6:20 | Elliot Cadeau misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
6:20 | Harrison Ingram offensive rebound | |||
6:06 | +3 | RJ Davis makes three point jump shot (Harrison Ingram assists) | 29-32 | |
5:41 | Quadir Copeland misses two point layup | |||
5:39 | Harrison Ingram defensive rebound | |||
5:33 | Harrison Ingram misses two point jump shot | |||
5:31 | Maliq Brown defensive rebound | |||
5:25 | Maliq Brown offensive foul | |||
5:25 | Maliq Brown turnover (offensive foul) | |||
5:13 | +2 | Armando Bacot makes two point layup (RJ Davis assists) | 31-32 | |
5:04 | Orange 30 second timeout | |||
4:49 | Armando Bacot personal foul | |||
4:45 | RJ Davis shooting foul (Judah Mintz draws the foul) | |||
4:45 | +1 | Judah Mintz makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 31-33 | |
4:45 | +1 | Judah Mintz makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 31-34 | |
4:27 | +3 | Harrison Ingram makes three point jump shot (Elliot Cadeau assists) | 34-34 | |
4:09 | Chris Bell misses three point jump shot | |||
4:07 | Harrison Ingram defensive rebound | |||
3:59 | +3 | Harrison Ingram makes three point jump shot (Elliot Cadeau assists) | 37-34 | |
3:43 | +2 | Justin Taylor makes two point jump shot | 37-36 | |
3:31 | Cormac Ryan turnover (bad pass) (Judah Mintz steals) | |||
3:12 | Justin Taylor turnover (traveling) | |||
3:12 | TV timeout | |||
2:45 | +3 | Cormac Ryan makes three point jump shot (Elliot Cadeau assists) | 40-36 | |
2:19 | +2 | Judah Mintz makes two point layup | 40-38 | |
2:08 | RJ Davis misses three point jump shot | |||
2:06 | Jalen Washington offensive rebound | |||
2:01 | +2 | Jalen Washington makes two point layup | 42-38 | |
1:44 | +2 | J.J. Starling makes two point jump shot | 42-40 | |
1:21 | RJ Davis misses two point layup | |||
1:19 | J.J. Starling defensive rebound | |||
0:57 | +2 | J.J. Starling makes two point jump shot | 42-42 | |
0:32 | Harrison Ingram turnover (bad pass) (Justin Taylor steals) | |||
0:01 | J.J. Starling misses two point jump shot | |||
0:00 | Harrison Ingram defensive rebound | |||
0:00 | End of period |