PITTSBURGH (AP) — Seven games separate No. 1 Syracuse from an undefeated regular season. Maybe it will be a lucky seven after a buzzer-beater kept the Orange on the course to perfection.
Tyler Ennis took the inbounds pass with 4.4 seconds left and dribbled up court, weaving through Pitt’s defense. He had the option of shooting or passing to Trevor Cooney.
The freshman guard decided to shoot.
It was the right decision.
Ennis made a 35-footer at the buzzer and Syracuse remained unbeaten with a 58-56 victory over No. 25 Pitt on Wednesday night.
“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.”
Pitt senior forward Talib Zanna called it a “lucky” shot. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim disagreed.
“It’s a little lucky, but I didn’t hear Duke saying they were lucky when they drove the length of the court and made an off-balance 3 to tie the game,” Boeheim said, alluding an overtime victory for his team over the Blue Devils at the Carrier Dome on Feb. 1.
It was Pitt’s first loss at home to a top-five team in the 12-year history of the Petersen Events Center, their on-campus arena. The Panthers (20-5, 8-4) had been 9-0 against top-five teams and 13-1 against teams ranked in the top 10.
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