Over and out: Syracuse’s season ends with loss to Wake Forest in ACC tournament

Greensboro, N.C. ― Syracuse’s season came to an end in stunning fashion as Wake Forest’s Daivien Williamson buried a 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds remaining for a 77-74 win over the Orange here in the second round of the ACC tournament.

Prior to Williamson’s shot, Syracuse had the ball with a chance to at least take the lead, but Joe Girard’s 3-pointer came up well short. Wake Forest guard Tyree Appleby rushed the ball up the court and found Williamson stepping toward the 3-point line and hit him with a perfect pass.

Williamson’s big shot sent the Wake Forest fans into hysterics, while the Syracuse players reacted in frustration. Judah Mintz ripped his jersey. As the game ended, Mintz remained on the SU bench with his head buried in his hands.

Syracuse’s season closes with a 17-15 record. Wake Forest advances to take on Miami, the touranment’s No. 1 seed, in the quarterfinal round.

The game seemed secondary to the fate of Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim. The question of whether the Hall of Fame coach will return for another season on the bench or retire after 47 seasons at his alma mater has hung over the SU program for much of this season with speculation increasing during the final weeks of the regular season.

The Demon Deacons looked to have taken control of the game with a game-changing 17-to-1 run early in the second half.

Syracuse had taken a 41-37 leads when Jesse Edwards posterized Wake’s Andrew Carr with a slam and the And-1 with 17:22 remaining in the game. But the Deacons shot back into the lead just one minute and kept padding the margin until Tyree Appleby and Daivien Williamson canned back-to-back 3-pointers.

Wake Forest held Syracuse to one point and no field goals for a span of six minutes. The Deacons eventually extended their lead to 56-43 with 11 minutes remaining.

Syracuse looked to be dead in the water with its season about to come to an end, but the Orange got a 3-pointer from Judah Mintz to jump-start its offense. Syracuse would out-score Wake Forest 14-to-2 over the next three minutes, closing to within 58-57 on Joe Girard’s 3-pointer with 8 minutes on the clock.

Most of Syracuse’s run came with Jesse Edwards on the bench with four fouls. Benny Williams eventually tied the game at 60 with his putback bucket and a free throw with 7:41 remaining.

Syracuse fought to get the lead. Wake Forest’s Cameron Hildreth scored seven straight to keep the Deacons apace of the Orange. Syracuse had the ball down one with under three minutes to go, but Williams tried to thread the needle with a pass to Quadir Copeland, but the lane wasn’t there. Wake Forest stole the ball and scored on a breakaway to take a 72-69 lead.

Syracuse finally surged in front 74-72 as Benny Williams drilled a 3-pointer with 59 seconds left. But Hildreth continued his outstanding play, tying the game with a shot in the lane with 36 seconds left to set up the final sequence which ended with Williamson’s game-winner.

Wake Forest avenged its 72-63 loss to Syracuse on Saturday at the JMA Wireless Dome. Syracuse snapped a four-game losing streak with that win.

Wednesday’s game bore little resemblance to Syracuse’s win over Wake Forest on Saturday.

After watching Jesse Edwards dominate Saturday’s game with 27 points and 20 rebounds, Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes had his team double-team the Syracuse center every time he touched the ball.

The double-team effort limited Edwards to just two points on 1-for-3 shooting in the first half. Worse for Syracuse were Edwards’ two first-half fouls, which put him on the bench briefly.

Syracuse led 22-10 as Chris Bell and Benny Williams both tossed in a pair of 3-pointers, but Wake Forest quickly closed the gap with an 11-0 run. The game remained tight from there with Syracuse taking a 35-33 lead into the halftime locker room.

This is Syracuse’s 10th year as a member of the ACC. The Orange has still never advanced to the semifinals.

Syracuse.com will debut a documentary film on Syracuse basketball’s 2003 NCAA championship team on March 29 at the Landmark Theatre. Tickets are on sale now. For more information, click here.

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