Field Level Media
Jan 18, 2020
Virginia Tech's Landers Nolley II missed a contested 30-foot 3-pointer with three seconds left as Syracuse held on to beat the Hokies 71-69 in an ACC game on Saturday afternoon in Blacksburg, Va.
Syracuse's Marek Dolezaj made a free throw with one second left and purposely missed the second attempt. Nolley's desperation length-of-the-court heave fell short as time ran out.
Buddy Boeheim had a game-high 26 points -- including 18 consecutive points for Syracuse in one stretch of the first half -- and Elijah Hughes added 17 points and seven rebounds for the Orange (11-7, 4-3 ACC). Dolezaj had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Jalen Cone led Virginia Tech (13-5, 4-3) with 14 points. Nolley finished with 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Virginia Tech went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 66-65 with 1:52 left in regulation. After a Syracuse timeout, Dolezaj made a layup. Nahiem Alleyne answered with a jumper for the Hokies with 1:21 remaining.
Hughes' jumper increased the Syracuse lead to 70-67 but Wabissa Bede responded with a layup while he was fouled. Bede missed the free throw and the Orange held on to their 70-69 lead with 40 seconds remaining.
A shot-clock violation turned the ball over to Virginia Tech with 10 seconds left. Following a timeout with 7.4 seconds remaining, Nolley made a quick release after receiving a pass and the 3-point shot banged off the rim.
The teams played only 11 days previously at Syracuse with the Hokies winning 67-63. Virginia Tech went on a 21-4 run in the second half of that game to overcome a nine-point deficit.
Virginia Tech made six of its first nine 3-point attempts in the second half Saturday to narrow a 47-34 lead for Syracuse down to 53-51 with Nolley's 3-pointer with 10:30 left in regulation.
Boeheim's 18 consecutive points for Syracuse was half of the Orange's output in the first half. He finished the half shooting 7 of 13 from the field, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range. He finished 10 of 20 from the field and 5 of 13 from beyond the arc.
--Field Level Media