The lawyer for the two former Syracuse ball boys whose defamation lawsuit against the university and Jim Boeheim was not restored Friday said they will appeal to New York state’s highest court.

Mike Lang and Bobby Davis accused Bernie Fine, former associate head men’s basketball coach, of sexually abusing them during the 1980s and 90s. Boeheim called the two liars who were trying to get money, which they claimed was false and defamatory. Boeheim later apologized.

In May 2012, a state supreme court justice dismissed the lawsuit, ruling Boeheim’s statements were opinions protected under free speech. And on Friday, an intermediate state appellate court affirmed the decision to dismiss 3-2.

“We are of course deeply disappointed by the Court’s ruling, and continue to believe that Jim Boeheim’s destructive statements branding Bobby Davis and Michael Lang liars and distorting other facts were defamatory,” said Mariann Wang, the attorney for Lang and Davis, in an emailed statement.

When asked when the appeal will be filed, Wang said “no comment.”

SU fired Fine, former associate head men’s basketball coach, on Nov. 27, 2011. He has denied all wrongdoing and wasn’t charged after an almost yearlong federal investigation.

The Court of Appeals is in Albany, N.Y., and is New York state’s highest court. The court was created to “articulate statewide principles of law in the context of deciding particular lawsuits,” according to its website.