UPDATED: Feb. 23, 2017 at 4:35 p.m.

When he could finally relax, Tyus Battle leaned back in his locker room chair and flashed a wide smile. It was a kind of happiness the freshman hadn’t shown since hitting his buzzer-beater at Clemson on Feb. 7. But finally, after scoring 18 points and keying an upset over No. 10 Duke, Battle could admit something that had been bugging him for weeks: He was tired of hearing about his illness.

Tired of having an excuse. Tired of being strapped down by a flu that sunk him into an 8-of-27 shooting slump over the past four games. Tired of being unable to show he’s the versatile offensive threat he’s proved he could be for three months.

On Wednesday night, the only thing sickening Battle was thinking about the pile of questions he faced about his health.

“Yeah, I definitely did (get tired of hearing about my illness),” Battle said. “I was trying to keep the flu a little bit low. You don’t like to make excuses.”

The Orange didn’t need to offer any explanations for another thriller in the Carrier Dome. Guards Battle and John Gillon took over for much of the second half, allowing SU to score more than double the 25 points it did in the first frame. Ultimately it was Gillon who took the reins last, banking in a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to vault Syracuse (17-12, 9-7 Atlantic Coast) past No. 10 Duke (22-6, 10-5). The game will be remembered for Gillon’s signature moment, but it’s one that could not have happened without the contributions of Battle.

The 6-foot-6 freshman was crucial against a Blue Devils defense that didn’t yield much space around the arc. Battle’s step-back jumper has become a specialty of his, and it was never more vital when he freed himself from Luke Kennard to splash in a game-tying basket with 2:02 left on the clock.

That set the stage for Gillon’s heroics and a game that nudges the Orange a little closer to an NCAA Tournament bid.

“He put on his big boy pants in the middle of the second half,” freshman Taurean Thompson said of Battle. “He just kept going to the basket. He kept putting points on the board so we just kept giving it to him.”

Jessica Sheldon | Staff Photographer

At first it looked as if Battle wasn’t going to play much of a role at all. In his 13 first-half minutes, when he shot only 1-for-3, the freshman said he was “sleeping” on the court. In other words, he was playing the way he had in the past two weeks: sick.

But the proverbial shackles seemed to unhook themselves in one second-half play, when Battle crept into the corner opposite of Syracuse’s bench. He buried a 3-pointer to cut Duke’s lead to two, and proceeded to score five of the Orange’s next seven points in a two-minute stretch to knot the score at 47.

With another two jumpers that each gave SU a one-point lead in the final 5:11, Battle’s shot hadn’t looked as steady since he dropped a career-high 23 against Virginia on Feb. 4.

“I think he’s always known that he’s served as that X-factor role for our team,” senior guard Andrew White said. “I think tonight should give him supreme confidence. … He carried our team for a short stretch.”

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MORE COVERAGE

• Gallery: Syracuse’s upset victory over No. 10 Duke
• The Final Word: Syracuse stuns No. 10 Duke, 78-75
• Syracuse upsets No. 10 Duke with John Gillon’s buzzer-beating banked 3
• What we learned from Syracuse’s 78-75 win against No. 10 Duke

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Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim dubbed Battle’s performance “tremendous,” saying his freshman guard looked healthy and able to move for the first time since his flu cropped up. Boeheim’s never been shy to publicly criticize his players, but over the past couple of weeks, he didn’t fire any press conference zingers at Battle. And even though Battle scored only 22 points over his previous four games, he knew he wasn’t going to get the best out of the freshman until he was healthy.

But on this night, Boeheim didn’t have cover for Battle. He did all of the talking himself.

“(This game) definitely proves my point,” Battle said. “… I’m back.”

Published on February 22, 2017 at 11:32 pm

Contact Connor: cgrossma@syr.edu | @connorgrossman