Syracuse, N.Y. ? Syracuse was in a zone, and Princeton had no answer for it.

Burned early by Princeton’s motion offense against their man-to-man defense, the Orange switched to their zone. The Tigers managed just five free throws during the final 8:41, and No. 6 Syracuse held on for a 56-45 victory in the second round of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic on Friday night.

“We wasted a lot of time in practice over the last two weeks playing man-to-man,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. “Against Princeton, we looked like we never practiced it. We felt all along we would play some zone but felt we could get by a little longer than we did.”

Hakim Warrick had 20 points for Syracuse (2-0), which advanced to Thursday’s semifinals at Madison Square Garden against No. 12 Mississippi State. Princeton (1-1), which beat Bucknell 61-48 in the first round, built that early lead and held its own until the closing minutes.

Syracuse rallied from a 14-5 deficit to lead 28-22 at halftime and built a 34-24 lead on a three-point play by Warrick with 17:13 remaining.

But the Tigers rallied to tie it at 37-all on Luke Owings’ layup, which came after 10 passes. After Demetris Nichols hit a three-pointer for Syracuse, Max Schaefer tied it at 40-all with a three at 8:41. That was the Tigers’ last field goal against the Syracuse zone.

Syracuse's Josh Pace scrambles for a loose ball against Princeton. The Orange won, 56-45, Friday in Syracuse, N.Y.

“We keyed in on defense,” said Terrence Roberts, who had eight points and six rebounds for the Orange despite a sore left knee injured the previous game. “That was the main thing. We knew we had to be mentally prepared to play defense.”

Will Venable led the Tigers with 17 points and six rebounds, and Judson Wallace had 11.

No. 12 Mississippi State 55, Birmingham-Southern 48

Birmingham, Ala. — Winsome Frazier scored 18 points, leading No. 12 Mississippi State to a 55-48 victory in the quarterfinals of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.