Virginia Drops Regular-Season Finale at Syracuse

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Virginia Cavaliers (15-16, 8-12 ACC) concluded their regular season with an 84-70 loss to Syracuse (13-18, 7-13 ACC) on Saturday night (March 8) at the JMA Wireless Dome.

Virginia shot 51.9 percent (27 of 52) from the field and 20 percent (3 of 15) from 3-point range. Jacob Cofie led the Cavaliers with 13 points off 6 of 6 shooting along with four rebounds, while Dai Dai Ames extended his double figure points streak to 10 games with 10 points (4-10 FG).

Syracuse never trailed in the contest. The Orange shot 59.6 percent (31 of 52) and outrebounded the Cavaliers 31-17.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cavaliers trailed 43-26 at halftime after shooting 41.7 percent from the field with just one 3-pointer while Syracuse shot 58.1 percent and capitalized with 12 points off Virginia’s seven turnovers. UVA mounted an 8-2 run in the later minutes of the half to cut the deficit to 10 points [31-21], but Syracuse would go on to grow its lead to as many as 19 before the intermission.

Virginia improved its shooting mark to 60.7 percent (17 of 28) and outscored Syracuse 44-41 in the second half, but the deficit was ultimately too great to overcome as the Cavaliers failed to pull within any closer than 13 points.

UP NEXT
Virginia will be the No. 9 seed and play No. 8 seed Georgia Tech in the second round of the ACC Tournament on Wednesday, March 12. Tipoff at the Spectrum Center is set for Noon on ESPN.