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Syracuse 77, Western Michigan 53: Trevor Cooney's 18 points led a balanced scoring attack as the Orange breezed to a second-round NCAA tournament win in the South Regional at Buffalo, NY.

Tyler Ennis and Jerami Grant each supplied 16 points for the third-seeded Orange (28-5), who advanced to a third-round matchup against 11th-seeded Dayton, a one-point winner over No. 6 Ohio State earlier in the day. C.J. Fair added 14 points and 11 rebounds as Syracuse held a 41-25 advantage on the glass.

The 14th-seeded Broncos (23-10), winners of the Mid-American Conference tournament, shot only 34.7 percent - 4-of-18 from 3-point range - in losing for just the second time in 14 games. Tucker Haymond and Shayne Whittington each scored 11 points to pace Western Michigan.

The game was essentially decided in the first half, as Syracuse led 40-21 at intermission behind 12 points from Cooney and 11 from Ennis. Western Michigan committed 11 first-half turnovers and the Orange converted those miscues into 13 points.

A four-point play by Cooney and a three-point play by Fair helped the Orange push their advantage to 61-35 with about 10 1/2 minutes to go. Whittington's dunk with six minutes left ended a field-goal drought of more than six minutes for the Broncos, who finished with nearly as many free throws (15) as field goals (17).

GAME NOTEBOOK: Cooney, who was 5-of-10 from the field and 4-of-8 from long range, had not shot better than 40 percent from the field in any of his last 10 games. ... Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim improved to 53-29 in the NCAA tournament, including 26-5 in openers. ... Ennis had six assists for the Orange while Connar Tava had six to lead the Broncos.