Turnover-prone NC State loses to Syracuse 77-68

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Alan Griffin scored 22 points and made four 3-pointers, Buddy Boeheim added 16 points and three 3s, and Syracuse beat North Carolina State 77-68 on Tuesday night to sweep the season series.

Griffin and Robert Braswell made a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions to help Syracuse take the first double-digit lead of the game at 65-55 with 8:16 left. N.C. State pulled within 67-64, but Boeheim started an 8-0 run to keep Syracuse in front by double digits the rest of the way.

Quincy Guerrier had 14 points and seven rebounds for Syracuse (11-6, 5-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), which forced 20 turnovers for the second straight game. Griffin also had three steals as the Orange collected 11 - after posting a season-high 13 in a loss to Clemson on Saturday.

The teams were meeting for the second time in less than 10 days. Syracuse snapped a three-game losing streak in the series on Jan. 31 with a 76-73 victory.

Thomas Allen led N.C. State (8-8, 4-7) with 17 points. DJ Funderburk added 14 points and Jericole Hellems had 11.

N.C. State shot 52.4% in the first half (11 of 21), but turned it over 13 times and trailed 34-33 at the break. The Wolfpack finished 20 of 45 from the field after shooting just 37.5% in the second half.

Syracuse is scheduled to host Boston College on Saturday while N.C. State will attempt to hand Duke its fourth-straight loss.