Syracuse, NY -- (Sports Network) - Ricky Harris posted a game-high 23 points to lead the second-seeded Massachusetts Minutemen to an 81-77 victory over the top-seeded Syracuse Orange in NIT quarterfinal action at the Carrier Dome.

Etienne Brower added 19 points and passed out five assists in the win for UMass (24-10), while Dante Milligan and Luke Bonner tallied 13 points apiece for the Minutemen, who became the first team to beat Syracuse twice in the Carrier Dome in the same season.

UMass, which beat Syracuse 107-100 on November 28, came back from a 22-point deficit in the second half to win Tuesday.

UMass advances to the NIT Final Four for the first time since 1991 and will play Florida, which beat Arizona State, 70-57, later Tuesday. The UMass- Florida game will be on April 1st.

The Orange held a 54-32 lead with 14:37 left after a layup from Scoop Jardine, but UMass rallied. Harris nailed a three-pointer from the left corner with under a minute left for a one-point deficit, and Milligan's two-handed jam off a pass from Chris Lowe with 28.5 seconds left gave the Minutemen a 78-77 lead.

Donte Greene then missed a jumper for the Orange and Lowe made 1-of-2 at the foul line with 17 seconds left. Jonny Flynn then turned the ball over for the Orange on a drive in the lane and Harris' two free throws with 4.4 seconds left sealed UMass' incredible win.

"We just knew we had to play together when we were down," Harris said. "When we started making the run, we saw they were fatigued. They started to yell at each other and complain to each other, but we just stayed together on the same page and that helped us come back."

Arinze Onuaku scored 20 points and collected eight rebounds to pace Syracuse (21-14), while Greene netted 18 points to go with nine boards in the losing effort. Flynn added 14 points and dished out eight assists, and Jardine chipped in 12 points off the bench.

Syracuse held UMass to a miserable 23.3 percent from the field during the first period of play, enabling the Orange to jump out to a commanding 43-24 halftime lead.

The Minutemen battled back during the second stanza, erasing a 19-point deficit with a 55.6 percent effort from the floor to earn the four-point victory. A 9-of-16 effort from three-point range over the final 20 minutes was the key to the comeback.

"The first half, I really think we did the things we needed to do to get in the lead," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "Our defense was good, we made some bad turnovers, but overall our defense was good. The second half, we just broke down defensively and gave them some wide-open threes, and they're going to make them."