Syracuse Remains Winless in ACC After OT Loss to Clemson

Story and photos by Ellen Burr

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse was 11 seconds away from securing its first ACC victory of the season when Clemson’s Gabe Devoe nailed a clutch three-pointer to tie the score at 61 and send the game into overtime, Tuesday night at the Carrier Dome.  

Syracuse had another chance, getting the last shot at the end of overtime.
 

But the Tigers (9-6, 2-1) ended up defeating the Orange 74-73 and Mike Hopkins completed his bid as SU’s interim head coach with a 4-5 record.

An announced crowd of 16,305 watched as Syracuse (10-6, 0-3) lost its third ACC game in a row. It is the lowest attendance by Dome fans at a conference game in more than 15 years.

"The last three games have been wars and we have had chances to win in every game," Hopkins said at his postgame news conference. "We are getting close and I feel like we are getting better. We just need to learn how to finish better."

Clemson Takes Charge in First Half

The first ten minutes of the game were back and forth until the Tigers went on a 15-3 run to build a  28-18 lead over the Orange with 4:48 left in the first half, Clemson's largest lead of the game.

A strong offensive effort by the Orange trimmed the margin to three, but Clemson then extended its edge back to 33-25 at the break.

Clemson outshot Syracuse from all areas of the court in the first half, especially from the three-point line. The Tigers were 5-for-8 from the perimeter, while Syracuse made only 4 out of 16 threes.

Syracuse Steps Up in the Second

After lackluster three-point shooting in the first half, the Orange shone in the second, knocking down 6 out of 13 three-point attempts. Led by the three-point shooting of Trevor Cooney, Michael Gbinije and Malachi Richardson, the Orange clawed its way to take a slight lead nearing the end of the game.

With18 seconds left in regulation, Malachi Richardson was fouled and sent to the line for a pair of free throws – he made the first, but after a Clemson timeout, missed the second.

Leading 61-58 with less than 15 seconds, it seemed as if SU would walk away with its first conference win of the season. It seemed simple – with a three–point lead, Syracuse would foul Clemson and send the Tigers to the line with the opportunity to score only two points, right?

Wrong. Clemson brought the ball up the court and dumped it inside to forward Jaron Blossomgame. As the Orange’s defense collapsed down into the paint, Blossongame popped the ball back out to the perimeter to DeVoe, who proceeded to drill the three.

Gbinije got off a three before time ran out but missed.

"It's tough," Gbinije said. "That three before overtime was basically a dagger. It could have been avoided, but unfortunately we left the best shooter on their time wide open. And we can't make those plays if we want to win. Plain and simple."

So close

The Orange and the Tigers traded baskets for the majority of the five minutes of overtime until Clemson extended its lead to 74-70 with a mere 19 seconds left in the game.

Following a Syracuse timeout, the Orange made yet another comeback attempt as Tyler Lydon hit an improbable three with 11 seconds left. That basket was followed by SU’s second timeout. The Orange came out in a scrappy man-to-man full court press, and Trevor Cooney snagged the steal on the inbounds.

But Syracuse’s luck had run dry. After a scramble, Cooney got the ball back and got off a three-point attempt. It missed. the ball caromed out of bounds and following a review, the officials awarded the ball to Clemson and that was that - a celebration for the Tigers and a heartbreaking 1-point loss for Syracuse. A somber Orange squad walked off the floor, heads hanging down.

"They made some big time shots to give them a chance," Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said.  "Then they stole the ball.  So, we’re very fortunate with the way it ended, but I really thought we made a lot of good plays throughout the game to win.”

Hopkins’ Last Game as Interim Head Coach

Tuesday night’s game against Clemson was the last of Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim’s nine-game NCAA suspension, meaning it was the last game that Mike Hopkins would serve as the interim head coach. Hopkins finished his short stint as head coach with a 4-5 record, capping it off with the disappointing loss to the Tigers.

"I'm not a loser," Hopkins said in the postgame news conference. "I don't lose, I never have. I hate it. I'm up here being composed but it's not in my DNA. So it hurts."

Hopkins has been on the Syracuse coaching staff for 21 years this season. This past June, Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud announced Hopkins will be the head coach after Jim Boeheim retires in 2018.

"Hop is doing a great job with communicating with everybody, from me to the last freshman walk-on," Gbinije said. "It's unfortunate we couldn't win for him. But that was his first time, everybody learns and gets better. I think he's going to have a bright future as a head coach."

Notes

Blossomgame led the Tigers in scoring with 20. Landry Nnoko, who dominated in the paint before fouling out, had 19 points and ten rebounds and Devoe added 11 points.

Gbinije led Orange scorers with 22 points, and freshman Malachi Richardson had 21 plus nine rebounds. Tyler Roberson scored 14 and Cooney had 12.

The rebounding battle was close, with Clemson getting one more than SU, 33-32.

Lydon's three in overtime was his only basket in 38 minutes of playing time.

Clemson shot only eleven free throws but made ten, Syracuse was 12-19.

Next

Boeheim's suspension officially ended at midnight Tuesday. His first game back is Saturday night when the Orange hosts No. 6 North Carolina at the Dome.

Clemson hosts No. 16 Louisville on Sunday at noon.

Pictures

Here is a look at the game in photos. Click on any one to start slide show.