Matthew Cleveland scores career-high 32 to carry Miami past Syracuse 91-84
Cleveland set his previous high of 31 points just last month in a 117-74 defeat of SMU on Jan. 18. Against the Orange, he sank 10 of 12 foul shots and distributed five assists.
Reserves Joel Djobet scored 13 points and A.J. Stanton-McCray added 10 for Miami (6-18, 2-11 ACC), which shot 55.4% (31 of 56) including 10 for 20 from 3-point range.
J.J. Starling led Syracuse (11-14, 5-9) with 25 points. Eddie Lampkin Jr. scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and reserve Chris Bell added 14 points.
Djobet made a 3 to tie it at 61 with 9:13 remaining, and 31 seconds later, Bethea made two foul shots for a two-point lead and Miami held the advantage the rest of the way.
Cleveland's layup with 1:48 left extended the lead to 80-71, the Canes' largest lead of the game. Cleveland gave Miami its first nine-point lead, 41-32, with a pair of foul shots with 1:50 before halftime. His jumper with 31 seconds before intermission made it 43-34.
Syracuse hosts North Carolina on Saturday. The Hurricanes, who have won two of three following a 10-game losing streak, travel to face Pitt on Saturday.
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