CHICAGO – It all came down to a game of inches, literally, as a seemingly endless review by the referees determined if Trevor Cooney’s left toe stepped on the end line with 11.2 seconds remaining.

Gonzaga was awarded possession and a game the Bulldogs led the majority of came down to one last shot. Josh Perkins’ floater with less than three seconds left was blocked by Tyler Lydon and the freshman hit two foul shots to secure the victory.

Domantas Sabonis’ full-court heave went wide and No. 10 seed Syracuse (22-13, 9-9 Atlantic Coast) somehow, some way, squeaked out a 63-60 win over the 11th-seeded Bulldogs (28-8, 15-3 West Coast) to advance to the Elite Eight.

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On Thursday, Jim Boeheim said Kyle Wiltjer could score from anywhere on the court and he couldn’t have been more spot on. The senior opened up a double-digit Gonzaga lead early on by sinking shots from the top of the key, from the wing well beyond the arc, from the foul line and from the short corner.

When the top of the zone collapsed on him after his torrid opening stretch, the ball often found its way inside to the 6-foot-11  Sabonis. The Lithuanian almost always favored his left hand, using a drop step and turn before attempting a shot. But Lydon was more than up to the task, and help defense from Tyler Roberson and at times even a third player stifled the big man on offense.

Sabonis grabbed 11 first-half rebounds despite his offensive struggles, but what hurt far more were Wiltjer’s 15 points and ability to find the cracks in the zone that others weren’t. When the tandem wasn’t on the court at the same time, though, the Bulldogs’ sputtered and Perkins, Eric McCLlllan and Kyle Dranginis fell victim to a stringent Syracuse zone that didn’t fall for ball fakes and collapsed on anyone with the ball before they could penetrate effectively.

Syracuse’s offense was far from glamorous itself, but the Orange made 7-of-8 foul shots in the half while Gonzaga didn’t make a trip to the line. SU shot 11 percent worse than Gonzaga in the first half, but it forced six more turnovers and scrapped its way to within one by halftime.

In stark contrast to his stares into the Syracuse section of the stands after three straight makes in the first half, Wiltjer clanked his first three attempts of the second and SU jumped ahead by five courtesy of two Gbinije buckets. Then he awoke, and gave Gonzaga a three-point lead after hitting from the same variety of spots he had before.

But this time, the Bulldogs were unable to pull away. Syracuse stuck to attacking the rim and its normal 3-point gunners, Malachi Richardson and Cooney, got their points at the foul line instead. Sabonis got better looks offensively, but Roberson was again an animal on the boards and drew fouls going after missed shots to slow down the hectic pace the Bulldogs were playing at.

And after both teams repeatedly traded buckets, it was that hectic pace that allowed Gonzaga to grab its largest lead, 53-46, since early in the first half. Dranginis and Perkins hit 3s to give GU a boost from players not named Wiltjer and Sabonis and Boeheim called timeout with 7:43 left to stop the bleeding.

The bleeding sustained, but not as heavily, as a Cooney 3 kept Syracuse afloat despite Sabonis dominating Dajuan Coleman on the offensive glass. Each time Gonzaga brought the ball up, its fan section stood and cheered while Syracuse’s contingent remained near silent. And when SU had a chance to make it a one-possession game with under three minutes left, Sabonis forced a turnover, fully flexed and screamed as his face turned beat red.

But Syracuse’s press, along with a man-amongst-boys performance on the boards from Roberson, narrowed the gap to one with 1:28 remaining. And when Gbinije converted a fourth-chance layup, SU grabbed a 61-60 lead with under 21 seconds remaining.

It was one of the only leads Syracuse had, but it stayed, and the Orange held on by its last breath to keep its season alive.

Published on March 26, 2016 at 12:00 am

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman