COL BKB: Texas A&M 66, Syracuse 58

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., March 17 (UPI) -- Acie Law scored 23 points Thursday night as Texas A&M beat Syracuse, 66-58, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville, Fla.

The contest was part of the Atlanta bracket.

Law also had seven rebounds and five assists; Joseph Jones added 12 points and seven rebounds; and Antanas Kavaliauskas had nine points, two rebounds and two assists for the 12th-seeded Aggies, who held Syracuse star guard Gerry McNamara scoreless and rose to 22-8. A&M will face LSU in the second round.

Terrence Roberts had 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists; Josh Wright totaled 12 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals; while Eric Devendorf scored 11 points for the 5th-seeded Orange (23-12), who suffered their second straight first-round loss and finished at 23-11.

Syracuse was the first school in Big East history to win the conference tournament with four wins in four days last week.