The number one ranked Syracuse Orange were down 55-56 to the 25th ranked Pittsburgh Panthers with 4.4 second left Wednesday night at the Petersen Events Center. Then, after getting off a successful inbound pass to Tyler Ennis, with the ball in his hands, shot a 35-foot shot with 1 second remaining and drained it, giving the Orange the 58-56 victory.
”I saw someone ran over to Trevor and I just had to beat one guy,” Ennis said. ”I knew they weren’t going to let Trevor get it. I just had to get some space. I knew I could get open for a second.”
Ennis, one of the best freshmen this season, was calm, cool and collected, jogging down to the Syracuse bench, cracking a small smile, while the rest of the team went absolutely bonkers. Even coach Jim Boeheim ran down the sidelines with his hands up smiling, all with good reason.
This looked to be the game that Syracuse would suffer its first loss after starting 23-0, the school’s best start in its history. This is also the first time the school has won its first 10 games in conference play in the ACC. Syracuse never won its first 10 conference games when it was a part of the now defunct Big East.
Pittsburgh, 20-5, was looking for a quality victory after losing all four of their first games verses top 40 ranked opponents. The Panthers led 27-24 at the half and lead by as much as nine points in the second half.
Syracuse’s schedule is tough this season, with road games at Duke, Maryland, Virginia, and Florida State still on schedule. They might not finish undefeated. However, after tonight’s game, with all the heart and resilience they showed, it would be foolish to count them out.