The lead lasted less than three minutes

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GREENSBORO, N.C. -- North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried said his team had a "golden" opportunity to help its NCAA tournament chances. The Wolfpack didnt squander it, instead sending Jim Boeheim and No. 11 Syracuse to a quick exit from their first Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. T.J. Warren scored 28 points while Ralston Turner banked in the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:28 left to help N.C. State upset the Orange 66-63 in Fridays quarterfinals, continuing both the Wolfpacks push for the NCAAs and the Oranges downward late-season trend. The seventh-seeded Wolfpack (21-12) blew a 10-point second-half lead but came through with two clutch baskets late to hold off the Orange (27-5) in front of a home-state crowd in Greensboro. It was a huge win for N.C. State, which came into the year picked to finish 10th in the league with a young team and instead finished 9-9. That included one-point losses on last-second baskets to Wake Forest and rival North Carolina, as well as one to Syracuse at the Carrier Dome last month. "I hope that were a legitimate contender," Gottfried said. "Were not the same team that we were in November and December. When you lose 80 per cent of your scoring from a year ago, its going to take a while to figure yourselves out." Now N.C. State has won four straight heading into Saturdays semifinals against No. 7 Duke, marking the third time in three seasons that N.C. State has reached Saturday at the ACC tournament under Gottfried. This win could help Gottfried also make it 3 for 3 with the NCAAs, too. "I think so," Turner said when asked about whether N.C. State should be in, "but thats not up to me." Warren followed Turners tiebreaking 3 with a jumper to make it 64-61, then hit two free throws with 24.6 seconds left to keep the Wolfpack up three. Syracuse had one wild final possession, missing six shots -- including four hurried 3-pointers from Tyler Ennis, Trevor Cooney and C.J. Fair -- to ensure its first ACC tournament would be a one-and-done stop. "I thought the 3s we were taking, we had a couple of good chances," Ennis said, "but they just didnt fall." Ennis scored 15 of his 21 points after halftime for Syracuse, which was unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in the country a month ago but has faded down the stretch. The tournaments No. 2 seed had lost four of six coming into Greensboro, though Boeheim has dismissed the suggestion that his team was in a slump. That talk will probably grow louder with another loss -- Syracuse is 2-5 after a 25-0 start -- heading into the NCAA tournament. Syracuse shot 33 per cent Friday, with leading scorer Fair scoring nine points on 3-for-16 shooting. "Im not concerned about our team," Boeheim said. "I think weve played well all year. I think weve struggled shooting, and I think thats pretty well-documented. But in spite of that, we won 27 games, so Im pretty pleased with what these guys have done, and I believe well be a very good tournament team." Warren, the ACCs leading scorer and player of the year, finished 9 for 21 from the field but hit 10 of 12 free throws and grabbed eight rebounds. "I just wanted to find open spots on the floor," Warren said. "Their zone is so spread out that its easy to find little gaps and little separation. Theyre very athletic so youve really got to think quick to get your shots up." Fifth-year senior Jordan Vandenberg added 10 points for N.C. State, which led 28-25 at halftime then shot 52 per cent after halftime. The Wolfpacks win against reigning champion Miami in Thursdays second round set up the rematch with Syracuse, who was still atop the polls when it edged N.C. State 56-55 on Feb. 15. Syracuse won that after the Wolfpack committed a late turnover that led to Fairs winning layup with 6.7 seconds left. There was also a much-discussed call in which officials waved off a basket from Warren while being fouled with 13.6 seconds left because the foul came before the shot with N.C. State up one. This one came down the stretch just like before, but the Wolfpack didnt let this one get away. "Sometimes those kind of things balance out in life," Gottfried said. "We had the tough one earlier in the year where we didnt finish the game. Today, maybe fate was on our side on that last possession." Johnny Cueto Jersey . When a game is in the balance, however, they still have the personnel and the experience to end up with the two points. 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He played with Class AA Binghamton of the Eastern League in the New York Mets system last season.PITTSBURGH -- James Neals power-play goal 1:27 into overtime lifted the Pittsburgh Penguins to a wild 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. Neals slapshot over Anders Lindbacks right shoulder capped a frantic final 15 minutes of play as the teams traded the lead three times. Evgeni Malkin had two goals and two assists while Sidney Crosby added a goal and two assists for the Penguins, who have won nine straight over the Lightning. Jeff Zatkoff stopped 21 shots and Pittsburgh ended Tampa Bays five-game winning streak. Steven Stamkos, Valtteri Filppula and Ondrej Palat scored for the Lightning, who have recorded at least one point in eight straight games. Lindback made 25 saves but had no chance on Neals 23rd goal of the season. The teams spent two periods playing the kind of conservative hockey more suited for the Stanley Cup playoffs than the wide-open attacking style more fitting for two of the most offensively talented teams in the league. No matter, they made up for it in the third. Stamkos broke a 1-1 tie 8:17 into the final period when he poked a rebound underneath Zatkoffs legs to put the Lightning in front. The lead lasted less than three minutes, as Malkin pounced on a rebound off a Matt Niskanen slapshot into an open net for his third goal in two games. Malkins 23th of the season came with 3:17 left in regulation when he powered a shot by Lindback that seemed to deflate the Lightning. It did, but only momentarily. Palat stunned the 319th consecutive sellout crowd at Consol Energy Center when he cleanly beat Zatkoff to tie the game at 3 with just 1:22 left in regulatiion.dddddddddddd Tampa Bay gave the leagues top-ranked power play a chance to end it when the Lightning were called for too many men on the ice 1:11 into overtime. The Penguins needed just 16 seconds to win it as Malkin set up Neal in the forwards favourite spot at the top of the left circle. The puck was a blur as it sailed into the net as Pittsburgh bounced back from a 5-4 overtime loss to Detroit on Thursday when the Red Wings scored on a bounce off a Penguins defenceman with less than a second to go in overtime. The Lightning have been the hottest team in hockey not named the Boston Bruins since Stamkos return from a leg injury last month. Fueled by their star -- and his elevation to captain after Martin St. Louis was traded to the New York Rangers -- Tampa Bay has sprinted to third in the Eastern Conference standings. They certainly looked like one of the conferences elite while trying to end a lengthy bout of futility against Pittsburgh. Tampa Bay clogged the neutral zone and seemed to have the upper hand at times when the teams were playing at full strength. Seven penalties, however, did them in. The Penguins went 3 for 6 on the power play. NOTES: Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said theres a "possibility" goaltender Tomas Vokoun could play before the beginning of the post-season, though it seems unlikely. Vokoun has been out since training camp while recovering from a blood clots. ... Zatkoff picked up the first point of his NHL career with the secondary assist on Crosbys goal. ... The Lightning host the New York Islanders on Monday while the Penguins welcome the St. Louis Blues on Sunday. Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '