Sherif Gross-Bullock went coast-to-coast for the game-winning floater with 0.8 seconds left as Bryant posted a 73-72 road upset of Syracuse on Saturday.
As part of a roller-coaster final minute, Gross-Bullock collected a steal and went in for the go-ahead dunk with 25 seconds remaining.
Syracuse’s Justin Taylor made 1-of-2 free throws before Gross-Bullock missed two from the line. Orange guard Joe Girard then knocked down a pair of foul shots to put the Orange ahead 72-71 with eight seconds to play, setting up Gross-Bullock’s heroics.
The decisive floater bounced several times on the rim before falling through.
Antwan Walker had 18 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Bulldogs (5-1), who got 15 points from Gross-Bullock and 13 apiece from Earl Timberlake and Charles Pride.
The Orange (3-3) received a career-high 25 points from Taylor and a career-high 21 rebounds from Jesse Edwards, who also registered 12 points. Syracuse’s Chris Bell chipped in 14 points, also a personal best.
The first half was marred by a series of ejections following a sequence in which Syracuse’s Judah Mintz slapped the jaw of Doug Edert, and then Edert responded by slapping Mintz in the back of his head. Both players were ejected, as were two Bryant reserves and several assistant coaches for both teams, all for leaving the bench area.
Syracuse did not reach double figures in points until nine minutes had elapsed. Bryant took its first double-digit lead on Walker’s layup with five minutes left in the half, and Miles Latimer followed with a 3-pointer for a 35-22 advantage.
The Orange scored seven of the next nine points, but Gross-Bullock drained a shot from near halfcourt at the buzzer to send the Bulldogs into the locker room ahead 40-29.
Syracuse got within five points early in the second half, but Bryant built its lead back to 13 on Gross-Bullock’s 3-pointer with about 15 minutes to play.
The hosts later went on a 10-2 run — capped by back-to-back buckets from Bell — to get within 58-56 with 5:17 remaining. Bell came up big again with a jumper and a 3-pointer to turn a four-point deficit into a 66-65 lead with 1:30 left.
–Field Level Media
