UNC-Asheville's Jaron Lane (5) and Syracuse's Baye Keita (12) battle for a loose ball in the first half of an East Regional NCAA tournament second-round college basketball game on Thursday, March 15, 2012, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith …
The celebration belonged to the Cardinals, who added this to a …
Rick Pitino knows how lasting one more win would be. It would …
Updated: Thursday, 15 Mar 2012, 6:03 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 15 Mar 2012, 6:01 PM EDT
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Reserve James Southerland had 15 points and a season-high eight rebounds and Syracuse avoided becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16 when it rallied for a 72-65 victory over UNC-Asheville on Thursday in the East Regional.
The Orange entered the tournament without starting center Fab Melo, who was declared ineligible for academic reasons, and they almost left early with a piece of history no team wants.
Syracuse (32-2) will play eighth-seeded Kansas State in the third round on Saturday at the Consol Energy Center. The Wildcats beat Southern Mississippi 70-64.
The Orange overcame a terrible game from 3-point range (5 of 23) to beat the much-smaller Bulldogs (24-10), who had talked Wednesday of becoming the first No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1.
J.P. Primm had 18 points for UNC-Asheville.
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