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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — For the second time this week, Syracuse nearly blew a late lead but pulled out a victory via last-second free throws. This time, it was Cole Swider at the line, and his two free throws in the last 10 seconds pushed SU to a 63-60 victory over Florida State.

Syracuse almost let the game — and a six-point lead with 3:25 left — slip away when Symir Torrence had his layup blocked, and FSU’s ensuing bucket electrified the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center crowd. The Orange’s lead slipped further when Florida State hit a corner 3 to make it a one-point game with 30 seconds left — and then almost vanished in an instant when Swider lost the ball and dove but didn’t recover it.

But Syracuse was bailed out by Anthony Polite’s turnover with 12 seconds left. Polite raced down the court in transition to attempt a game-winning basket but instead fumbled the ball out of bounds. FSU sent Swider to the line, and he made two key free throws. SU waited in anticipation as the final Florida State 3-point attempt crashed off the front rim, and then the Orange ran off to celebrate.

“It’s a gutty win,” head coach Jim Boeheim said. “Really hard win.”

Coming off a rollercoaster double-overtime victory over Indiana, the Orange (5-3, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) faced another early-season test in their conference opener at Florida State (5-3, 0-1 ACC). Against the Hoosiers, Syracuse blew a 16-point second-half lead and then another six-point one with a minute remaining in regulation, but clutch plays down the stretch from Buddy Boeheim and strong free-throw shooting lifted it to a last-second victory.

Saturday in Tallahassee, Florida, however, it was Syracuse playing from behind. It trailed almost the entire first half because of awful shooting but hung around thanks to its defense, Boeheim said. Then, it clawed its way back into the game during the second half courtesy of improved shooting, a 14-1 run and a shift to a 1-1-3 defense. Buddy faced heavy pressure all afternoon and was held to six points, his fewest since a two-point performance against Northeastern on Dec. 16, 2020.

But in a tough road atmosphere against an FSU team that had won 25 consecutive conference games at home, Syracuse hung on for dear life to topple a KenPom top-35 team. Syracuse shot less than 23% in the first half but came out of halftime strong and shot 50% in the final 20 minutes.

“We got situations we could take advantage of,” Boeheim said of the difference between the two halves, offensively. “We just couldn’t make anything and all of a sudden, Joe made a 3, Cole made a 3 … Jimmy made a drive. We made some shots. That was the difference, really.”

Early on, Syracuse was getting good looks, Swider said, but just couldn’t connect. Just four minutes into the game, the Orange already had three turnovers and were 1-of-7 from the field. Jimmy Boeheim tried an inbound pass from the baseline that was intercepted and eventually turned into a 3-pointer for FSU. Jesse Edwards and Jimmy both picked up early fouls.

When Buddy tried to drive, he was double-teamed — or more — immediately. The SU star didn’t take his first shot until six minutes into the game, and moments after converting that layup, he tried to drive for another but couldn’t finish with a swarm of defenders around him.

It didn’t get much better for SU in the first half either. The 1-of-7 shooting turned into 4-of-24 midway through the first half. The Orange struggled to maintain the offensive identity that fueled them against Indiana and Arizona State. Edwards leaped to block a 3-pointer but couldn’t finish a wide-open baseline jumper on the other end of the floor. Swider rimmed a 3-pointer out after Edwards grabbed an offensive board, and Jimmy did the same. Jimmy then missed two layups that Boeheim said he should’ve made.

Yet Syracuse hung around. Sloppy play and seven first-half turnovers from the Seminoles meant SU was down only 14-12 at one point despite the poor shooting performance. Then, Joe Girard III nailed a logo 3-pointer and hit another trifecta on third-chance points after Syracuse rimmed the first two attempts in and out but got the offensive rebounds.

And to open the second-half, Girard nailed a 3 after Buddy found him wide-open at the top of the arc. Then the point guard lobbed a pass to Edwards, and the Seminoles’ lead was down to just six.

Syracuse used the half to take advantage of mismatches and attack downhill, Jimmy said. The Cornell transfer flashed good moves, finishing both in the right and left lanes, and Edwards matched up with a smaller defender and capitalized down low. He found success on ball screens, Buddy said.

SU switched back to its 1-1-3 defense for parts of the second half, something that Boeheim introduced against Indiana. The iteration of the 2-3 zone is built to take away the high post, Buddy explained on Tuesday, and it seemed to work once more on Saturday afternoon.

Florida State hoisted 3-pointer after 3-pointer, and they wouldn’t fall — the Seminoles finished 4-of-30 from beyond the arc. The deep efforts weren’t connecting, yet FSU continued to take them. Buddy said the 1-1-3 helped force more 3s.

Syracuse’s finishing improved, as Girard crossed over his defender and then drained a mid-range jumper to stretch SU’s lead to five. Jimmy converted a close-range finish, and then another — both shots that weren’t falling for SU in the first half. Swider swished a 3-pointer with 12:00 left in the half, and cheers from the Syracuse fans scattered throughout the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center crescendoed.

Florida State was 2-for-26 from 3-point range before Caleb Mills connected on a corner-3 attempt with 4:30 left. Mills’ make pulled FSU within six points, and the crowd erupted. But just seconds later, Swider spotted up and drained a 3-pointer to silence the crowd and cancel out Mills’ shot.

Despite Swider’s poor shooting in the opening half, he and Syracuse delivered when it counted — on that 3-point attempt, on defense and of course, in the final moments at the free-throw line.

“Even though I’m struggling shooting the ball right now, I think it was huge for me to be able to still go up there and make those shots and help the team win,” Swider said of his free throws. “Obviously winning here is a big feat for us and a big win for any ACC team.”

Published on December 4, 2021 at 6:24 pm

Contact Roshan: rferna04@syr.edu | @Roshan_f16