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Brogdon scores 19 and No. 12 Virginia beats No. 4 Syracuse 75-56 to take 1st in ACC

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Syracuse forward Rakeem Christmas (25) watches his dunk during the first half of an NCAA College basketball game in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, March 1, 2014. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) (The Associated Press)

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim watches his team during the first half of an NCAA College basketball game in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, March 1, 2014. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) (The Associated Press)

Malcolm Brogdon scored eight of his 19 points during a decisive second-half run and No. 12 Virginia clinched the top seed in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament by beating No. 4 Syracuse 75-56 on Saturday.

Akil Mitchell added 12 points and nine rebounds and Mike Tobey and Justin Anderson scored 11 each for the Cavaliers (25-5, 16-1 ACC), who won their only outright ACC regular season title 33 years ago — 1980-81 — when Ralph Sampson was a sophomore. The victory was their 13th in a row and the final buzzer brought hundreds streaming onto the court.

Tyler Ennis and C.J. Fair scored 13 each for the Orange (26-3, 13-3), who lost for the third time in four games. Syracuse played much of the game without ailing Jerami Grant because of a sore back.