Syracuse 72, UNC-Asheville 65: James Southerland had a team-high 15 points and eight rebounds as top-seeded Syracuse survived a major scare from the Bulldogs in the Round of 64 in Pittsburgh.

Kris Joseph finished with 12 points and eight rebounds and Scoop Jardine added 11 points and seven assists for the Orange (32-2), who trailed by four at halftime and by as many as six with 17:38 left.

But Syracuse came back late to avoid becoming the first team to fall to a No. 16 seed and will now advance to play No. 8 seed Kansas State on Saturday.

J.P. Primm had a team-high 18 points for UNC-Asheville (24-10), which won the Big South Conference title and was making its third NCAA tournament appearance in the last seven years. Jaron Lane had 16 points and seven rebounds and Jeremy Atkinson added 12.

Lane helped the Bulldogs pull even at 54 with 6:42 left, but Syracuse responded with an 8-0 run — a pair of baskets by Southerland and a three-point play by Joseph.

With the Orange up 62-58 with 1:20 left, Jardine missed the front-end of a 1-and-1, giving the Bulldogs a chance to cut into the deficit further. But Primm was whistled for a lane violation, and Jardine made a pair of free throws to extend the advantage to six.

After Lane hit a 3-pointer to pull the Bulldogs within 64-61 with 1:07 left, Brandon Triche made a layup on the ensuing possession to stretch Syracuse’s lead to five. The Bulldogs twice cut the deficit to three, but the Orange made six straight free throws in the final 34 seconds to seal the victory.

Matt Dickey, UNC-Asheville’s leading scorer at 16.5 points per game, finished 1-of-13 from the field and had a season-low five points.

Dion Waiters had 12 points for the Orange, who are without sophomore center Fab Melo after he was declared ineligible by the NCAA on Tuesday.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Syracuse improved to 54-34 overall and 46-27 under Jim Boeheim in NCAA tournament games … UNC-Asheville fell to 0-4 in the all-time series … Boeheim passed Bob Knight for seventh place in NCAA tournament victories … Leading 66-63 with 34 seconds left, Syracuse’s inbound pass appeared to deflect off Triche, but the officials ruled it out on the Bulldogs … Syracuse extended the lead to five moments later at the free-throw line … UNC-Asheville converted nine 3-pointers and shot 42 percent.