Syracuse's John Gillon hits buzzer-beater to stun No. 10 Duke

Dave DeLuca

Syracuse's John Gillon hits buzzer-beater to stun No. 10 Duke image

Where in the world would Syracuse be without John Gillon?

Gillon's buzzer-beating 3-pointer pushed Syracuse past No. 10 Duke, 78-75, at the Carrier Dome Wednesday night. The win is huge for the Orange's NCAA Tournament hopes and breaks their three-game losing streak.

The Orange are now (17-12, 8-7 ACC) and face No. 7 Louisville on the road on Sunday.

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Gillon, who transferred to Syracuse after spending one year at Arkansas-Little Rock and three at Colorado State, finished with 26 points against Duke.

Gillon is having an up-and-down season for Syracuse, but when the Orange win, he's is usually a big reason why.

Before Syracuse's three-game skid, the Orange won five straight. Gillon was huge down the stretch to seal a five-point win against Wake Forest. He scored 21 against then-No. 6 Florida State, including scoring Syracuse's last 13. Most notably, he scored 43 points in a come-from-behind, overtime win against NC State. Gillon's late 3-pointer sent the game into OT.

If Syracuse wants to continue to push toward a Tourney bid, it needs more nights like Wednesday from Gillon.

For Duke, the loss snaps a seven-game winning streak. Luke Kennard led the Blue Devils with 23 points, while Jayson Tatum had 19 points and 13 rebounds. 

Duke travels to Miami on Saturday.

Dave DeLuca

Dave DeLuca is an intern at Sporting News and a recent graduate of Buffalo State. He's a former intern and digital editor at The Buffalo News and executive editor of The Record, Buffalo State's student-run newspaper.