The scene in the Carrier Dome was starting to feel familiar. Syracuse began making shots it struggled to make all game. Defensive stops came freely after proving to be so elusive. A Top 10 opponent crumbled beneath deafening crowd noise, destined to fall against the Orange like Florida State and Virginia had done in the weeks prior.

It was a script Syracuse had acted out twice before on its home court, and all signs pointed to another dramatic upset on Monday night. But even with a pair of “herculean” comebacks, the Orange never had the final answer it did against both the Seminoles and the Cavaliers.

John Gillon’s end-of-regulation drive didn’t result in a layup or even a foul as the ball was knocked out of bounds. A potential game-winning 3-pointer from Andrew White fell short with two seconds left in overtime. Tyler Roberson was fouled after securing the rebound, but missed both foul shots with a chance to secure a second overtime.

“I feel like we’re the team destined to come back and win in overtime on buzzer-beaters,” freshman Taurean Thompson said. “For us to lose like that, it hurt.”

At this point in the season, it’s a mistake to count SU out of any game played on Jim Boeheim court. Syracuse (16-11, 8-6 Atlantic Coast) whittled down a lead that once stood 14-points high, but couldn’t finish off No. 8 Louisville (21-5, 9-4), losing 76-72 after staging a pair of remarkable comebacks.

The second came in overtime, when the Orange trailed by seven with 34 seconds left. But a Frank Howard 3 and three free throws from White in an 12-second span brought Syracuse within two points. The subsequent missed 3-pointer and foul shots soiled any chance of a fairytale ending, but the fact that an opportunity existed for one was astounding on its own.

“You really have no chance in these games against a team like Louisville,” head coach Jim Boeheim said. “… To come back and have a shot to win the game? That’s almost impossible.”

At least initially, UofL seemed on track for a blowout, much less a tight game at any point. Wielding one of the best defenses in the country, no basket was going to come easy against Louisville. Including the first one.

Before the Orange had a single point next to its name on the scoreboard, four Syracuse starters clanked a shot. The other, Thompson, lost a handle on his dribble and sent Boeheim into a fit of rage on the sideline.

With the stand-and-clap tradition persisting into its fifth minute, White scored SU’s first basket after eight possessions. Even the first made basket required a pair of crafty passes from Tyus Battle and Roberson.

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MORE COVERAGE 

• Andrew White’s 12 missed 3s overshadow 22-point night in loss to No. 8 Louisville
• Gallery: Syracuse falls to No. 8 Louisville 76-72 in overtime
• Fan reactions from Syracuse’s loss to Louisville
• The Final Word: Beat writers discuss Syracuse’s 76-72 overtime loss to No. 8 Louisville
• What we learned after Syracuse’s 76-72 overtime loss to No. 8 Louisville

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That’s the kind of effort it took throughout the first half to keep the deficit from growing larger than 14.

“These guys fight,” Boeheim said. “They fight as hard as you can fight.

An 11-1 run going into halftime put Syracuse in prime position to start thinking about putting another star on its NCAA Tournament resume. To start thinking about another court-storming. To start thinking that in a season that’s been nothing other than bizarre, another upset win was inevitable.

Just like he did against Clemson last week, Thompson got on an immediate roll out of halftime. The freshman forward hit his team’s first three baskets to cut the Orange’s deficit to five. Even when Syracuse’s first eight second-half 3-point attempts went awry, the ninth finally fell through from Tyler Lydon to give SU a two-point lead with nine minutes to go.

The two teams jockeyed back and forth the rest of the way, spearheaded by Gillon’s pair of 3s and two free throws in the final 2:01. It seemed that kind of late-game heroics would cement a victory, much like it had twice before.

But the inevitable win didn’t seem as such when Gillon knifed through the paint, believed he was fouled, and ultimately returned possession to the Cardinals with two seconds left.

“I felt like that was the game,” he said.

At least Gillon’s moment could be salvaged with overtime. The same could not be said about White’s or Roberson’s. White has been SU’s steadiest shooter all year, yet he couldn’t provide the marquee moment of his brief Orange career. Roberson couldn’t provide one either, even alone at the free-throw line.

On this night, there would be no signature ending.

Published on February 13, 2017 at 11:38 pm

Contact Connor: cgrossma@syr.edu | @connorgrossman