Freshman guard Tyus Battle swished in a three-pointer as time expired to give Syracuse (16-9, 8-4) their fifth straight win Tuesday night.
After starting the season 0-5 on the road, the Orange outlasted the Clemson Tigers (13-10, 3-8) for their second straight road win. Syracuse trailed for the majority of the second half before Battle hit the game-winner from the corner to steal the 82-81 victory.
Down by 2 with the clock winding down, Forward Tyler Lydon received a short pass at the top of the key and made the decision to drive to the hole. Many players would have settled for the deep three. Lydon, who also pulled down nine rebounds, had the composure to find his open teammate with just a second left on the clock. Tyus Battle was 1-6 before making the game-winning basket.
Coach Jim Boeheim says the plan on the last ;lay wasn't to go to Battle, just to spread out the players.
"We saw their center was playing on Tyus and we wanted to go to the basket. (He) got a wide-open shot. He’s been shooting well this year, but didn’t have a great night. When he caught it I thought he was going to make it. Big time play for a freshman."
Senior Andrew White III led the Orange with 23 points including five three-pointers. White was one of three Orange starters to play all 40 minutes, along with Tyler Lydon and John Gillon. White has scored at least 20 points in all five of Syracuse’s most recent wins. Lydon added 17 points, Taurean Thompson scored 14 all in the second half, and Gillon chipped in 13 to go with 8 assists.
Both teams had similar numbers from the free-throw line and from behind the 3-point line. What separated the two teams in Tuesday’s matchup was the battle on the boards. Despite committing more fouls and turnovers than the Tigers, Syracuse managed to out-rebound Clemson by nine.
Syracuse will look to ride their wave of momentum in another road game on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Panthers, currently last in the ACC.
