NCAA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT / SOUTHEAST REGIONAL AT RICHMOND, VA. : Syracuse, Minnesota Weather Upset Bug--Barely : Orangemen: Coleman swats away Stith’s shot at the finish and Virginia’s rally falls short, 63-61.

Down to its last chance, Virginia went to its main man, Bryant Stith, but he wasn’t quite up to the task.

The 6-foot-5 Stith had his shot blocked by 6-10 All-American Derrick Coleman and sixth-ranked Syracuse escaped with a 63-61 victory Sunday in the second round of the Southeast Regional to reach the final 16 of the NCAA tournament.

“I tried to get there to make the steal but I was too late,” Coleman said. “When he turned, I just leaped and blocked the shot.”

Coleman, who finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, said the block with four seconds left was a reflex move. Time ran out as the teams scrambled for the ball.

The home-state crowd screamed for a foul, but Stith didn’t complain.

“I thought they handled it well,” he said. “There’s always contact under there.”

After rallying from 15 points down in the second half, Virginia rallied in an attempt to keep alive the career of retiring Coach Terry Holland, who will become athletic director at Davidson.

Holland, who took the Cavaliers to nine NCAA tournaments in his 16 years at the school, was disappointed by the ending.

“I thought we were going to get them there at the end,” he said. “Or at the very least send it into overtime.”

Syracuse (26-6) will play Minnesota on Friday in the Southeast Regional semifinals at New Orleans. Virginia (20-12) is the only one of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s five tournament teams not to reach the final 16.

With Coleman leading the way, the Orangemen appeared headed for an easy victory after they scored the first nine points, held Virginia without a basket for the opening six minutes and rolled to a 41-29 halftime lead.

But after falling behind, 54-39, with 12:23 left, Virginia rallied behind Stith, who finished with 30 points.

“I kept waiting for something to happen because I knew it wasn’t going to be this easy down here,” Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim said.

What happened was a 17-5 run as the Cavaliers held the Orangemen without a basket for eight minutes.

Stith made two three-pointers during the run, his basket getting Virginia to within 59-56 with 1:40 left.

Billy Owens, who scored 16 points, made a bank shot that gave Syracuse a 61-56 lead with 54 seconds left. After Stith scored again on a drive, Coleman opened the margin to five again with two free throws.

Stith made another a three-pointer, Owens missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Virginia came down the court for the final shot, but Coleman was waiting.