Nate Kingz’s last-second layup pushes Syracuse past SMU 79-78
Nate Kingz spun inside for a game-winning layup with two seconds to play, helping Syracuse defeat SMU 79-78 for its second straight win. Tara Deluca | Asst. Photo Editor
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As senior captain J.J. Starling looked on from the sidelines, Syracuse looked to save its season.
It’ll take plenty of work for the Orange to climb out of the hole they dug themselves. But SU surely is trying. With seconds to play and Syracuse trailing by one, Nate Kingz spun inside for a driving layup. SMU lofted a full-court heave at the buzzer to no avail, giving Syracuse another last-second win.
Syracuse (15-11, 6-7 Atlantic Coast) took down SMU (17-8, 6-6 Atlantic Coast) 79-78 Saturday for its second straight win. The Orange trailed by 12 in the first half and double digits in the second half, yet still climbed back to victory.
Syracuse was in no position to win. Then, it made a survival run. Naithan George drilled a 3 to make it a two-point game. After a few back-and-forth scores, Kiyan Anthony delivered. He maneuvered inside for an and-one, giving SU its first lead since early in the first half.
The Mustangs built a four-point lead with the help of a 3 from SMU’s Boopie Miller, but Tyler Betsey and George delivered to reclaim the lead at 77-76. With a chance to pad a one-point lead, Kingz went to the free-throw line for a one-and-one. He missed the first, and on the other end, Corey Washington retook the lead.
With under a minute to go, Betsey had a clean look from 3 but missed it. After a defensive stop, the Orange had one final chance. With 13.7 seconds to play, Autry called a timeout down one.
Then came Kingz with the dagger.
Both squads entered in very different spots. SMU is well on its way to breaking an eight-year NCAA Tournament drought, projected as a No. 9 seed. Syracuse is lurching toward a fifth straight March Madness miss.
Leading the way all season for the Mustangs is point guard Miller, who is averaging over 19 points per game. Yet early on for SMU, center Samet Yiğitoğlu. The Istanbul, Turkiye, native, worked swiftly through SU’s 2-3 zone defense to beat William Kyle III down low for a quick four points.
When the Orange faced Cal three days ago, they attempted to beat the Golden Bears from the perimeter early. SU attempted 16 first-half 3s before splitting its attempts in half in the second frame. As the Mustangs entered as the second-best 3-point shooting team in the ACC, Syracuse kept its approach. The Orange shot 13 3s in the first half, also driving to the bucket through Donnie Freeman as both sides remained close through the early going.
SMU is one of the worst defenses in the conference, allowing 77.5 points per game. Freeman and George combined for 20 points at the half.
Meanwhile, while the Mustangs began to build a lead, it was Miller’s facilitation that took center stage. Miller didn’t score until a minute into the second half, but notched four assists through the first 12 minutes as SMU built a 28-21 lead. The lead grew to as much as 12 while SMU built a 9-0 run and a catastrophic rebounding advantage.
The Orange answered back with an 8-0 run before the half, but the Mustangs were still in control with 18 more points in the paint.
SMU had its way inside. Once Miller got going, it became a force Syracuse could only hope to contain. Miller knocked down a left corner 3 as part of the Mustangs’ 12-6 run to begin the second frame, moving their lead back to double-digits. Minutes later, Miller hit nothing but nylon again.
As Freeman’s offense continued for the Orange, Anthony added a right-corner 3, his first since SU’s win over Notre Dame on Jan. 31. Kingz added another 3 to pluck into the deficit again. Still, the Mustangs were too much inside for it to really matter.
While SMU possessed a key size advantage down low, Autry opted not to play backup center Akir Souare at all. Instead, Sadiq White received extended minutes and Freeman played plenty at the five when Kyle wasn’t in.
As Anthony remained in the game, Starling stayed out for over eight minutes. Anthony caught fire and Betsey added a 3, but the Mustangs still kept a cushion. That was until George sank a 3, making it just a two-point game.
The Orange eventually reclaimed the lead and wrestled back and forth before Kingz brought it home.
