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Richardson, Syracuse rally for spot in Final Four Virginia collapses during second half, falls to Syracuse in Midwest Region final
(35 minutes later)
CHICAGO — Malachi Richardson scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half, and Syracuse extended its improbable run to the Final Four with a 68-62 victory over top-seeded Virginia on Sunday. CHICAGO — Anthony Gill handed out high-fives on the sideline as his teammates gathered during a timeout, urging Virginia to stay calm as everything around the Cavaliers fell apart. Syracuse’s Malachi Richardson had just scored again, with less than four minutes to play, to extend Syracuse’s lead to six amid a stunning turn of events in the second half of Sunday’s Midwest Region final in the NCAA tournament.
The Orange (23-13) were on the NCAA Tournament bubble after a rough closing stretch, but slipped in as a 10 seed before storming to its first Final Four since 2013 and No. 6 overall. It comes at the end of a challenging season for coach Jim Boeheim, who was suspended for nine games as the result of an NCAA investigation. Minutes later, the 10th-seeded Orange completed a 68-62 upset of the top-seeded Cavaliers, whose bid for a first Final Four appearance since 1984 suddenly disappeared along with their 16-point second-half lead.
Michael Gbinije and freshman Tyler Lydon each scored 11 points for Syracuse, and Tyler Roberson finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. Richardson’s layup with 3 minutes 27 seconds to play had capped a remarkable 25-4 run for the Orange over a six-minute stretch that turned Virginia’s 54-39 lead with under 10 minutes to play into a 64-58 deficit.
London Perrantes scored 15 of his 18 points in the first half for Virginia (29-8), which blew a 16-point lead in the second half. Virginia finished its season 29-8, while Syracuse became the first No. 10 seed to advance to the Final Four in tournament history. The Orange will face the winner of Sunday’s late game between North Carolina and Notre Dame in Houston on Saturday.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The game began to turn when Syracuse utilized an effective full-court press to get Virginia out of its rhythm. Cavaliers senior guard Malcolm Brogdon, who had 21 points in Virginia’s eight-point win over Syracuse back in January, was handcuffed all night and limited to 12 points on 2-of-14 shooting. Junior guard London Perrantes scored 18 points on six three-pointers to pace Virginia, and Anthony Gill and Mike Tobey each added 10 points.
Richardson led four Syracuse players in double figures with 23 points. Michael Gbinije and Tyler Lydon each scored 11, and Tyler Roberson had 10.
Virginia led 35-21 at halftime, thanks in large part to five three-pointers from Perrantes in the first 20 minutes, but couldn’t weather an onslaught led by Richardson in the second half. The Cavaliers made just four field goals in the final 10 minutes of the game. The Orange grabbed seven of its 12 offensive rebounds in the second half.
Earlier, consecutive three-pointers from Perrantes sparked a 19-2 run in the first half that helped the Cavaliers gain the edge at intermission after staring 0 for 5 from the field. Perrantes made four of his five first-half threes wide open from the top of the key, and for much of the half Syracuse’s offense struggled on the perimeter, as well. The Orange scored 12 of its 21 first-half points in the paint and had made just 1 of 9 attempts from three-point range before heating up in the second half.