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Whether to foul up three points to prevent a team from tying the game or letting a game play out is a choice every coach grapples with. If the decision is to foul, it comes down to the execution. It may seem simple, but if not done right, it can prove costly.

With Syracuse leading 67-64 with five seconds left, head coach Adrian Autry told his team to foul. After J.J. Starling missed the front end of a one-and-one to potentially ice the game, he grabbed Roger McFarlane — SU’s last foul to give. Boston College called a timeout to draw up a play.

If Syracuse fouled when it needed to, BC’s play would be rendered useless. But the Orange didn’t. Fred Payne — who was guarded by Starling — inbounded to Chad Venning, who quickly gave it back to Payne. Starling got stuck behind Venning and couldn’t get close enough to close out the shot, let alone foul. Payne drilled the 3-pointer, sending the game to overtime.

“Sometimes these things happen so fast, we couldn’t get there. But the plan was to foul,” Autry said postgame.

At that moment, Syracuse’s defense broke down when it needed one more stop. Payne’s shot started a three-overtime marathon. In the second overtime, Syracuse (11-13, 5-8 Atlantic Coast) trailed by seven points, but across the final eight minutes of the game, it didn’t allow a field goal and held Boston College (10-13, 2-10 Atlantic Coast) to three points. SU’s lockdown defense spearheaded an improbable 95-86 victory.

The Orange’s defense was nearly the reason they blew what looked like a sure-fire win. It was also the reason that they clawed back to come out on top.

At the end of the first two overtime periods, Syracuse’s defense nearly won the game in each period. Boston College had possession with a chance to wind down the clock and take a last-second shot to win the game. First, Joshua Beadle turned the ball over with five seconds left. It led to a Starling 3-pointer at the buzzer, which went long. Then Donald Hand Jr. turned it over in a similar fashion before Kyle Cuffe Jr. tossed a halfcourt shot, which was just off the mark, sending the game to a third overtime.

Though if you told anyone with 2:58 left that Syracuse would be in that position, they probably would’ve laughed at you.

In the second overtime, Beadle nailed a triple before Hand and Venning scored in the paint to make it 83-76 Boston College.

It was reminiscent of Syracuse’s defense to open the second where it provided little resistance to BC. The Orange led by seven at halftime, but the Eagles hit their first five shots to keep themselves in the game.

Despite the deficit with less than three minutes left, the attitude in Syracuse’s huddle was calm.

“The only thing coach told us was, it’s not over, and that’s just about it,” Chris Bell said. “That’s all we really need to hear, that we’re just fine.”

Autry brought in Petar Majstorovic to blitz the ball alongside Jaquan Carlos. The two applied as much pressure as possible to speed Boston College up and cause chaos. Autry said it wasn’t a defensive coverage they used much or even practiced a ton. Though, the Orange were desperate and needed a spark.

“It’s fun playing up and playing full court and trying to cause havoc for that team,” Carlos said.

Majstorovic echoed that sentiment. The freshman only plays 13 minutes per game but was ready when his name was called. His goal was to make BC lose its composure with the traps as SU looked to claw its way back.

The Orange were successful. Over the last two minutes of the second overtime, BC had as many shot attempts as turnovers (three). Four straight points cut SU’s deficit to three before Carlos stripped Beadle to give the Orange a chance to tie the game. Starling was fouled and knocked down both free throws. Each team exchanged free throws, and eventually, the Orange tied the game to send it to a third overtime period.

That’s where Syracuse locked all windows and doors. Boston College scored one point, went 0-for-6 from the field and didn’t score in the final 4:23.

“The last overtime was phenomenal,” Autry said. “We held them to one point. I thought we stepped up and we got the stops that we needed.”

It was defense that Syracuse hasn’t played much this season. The Orange allow 77.7 points per game, the second-most in the ACC. In their previous contest against Duke, the Blue Devils didn’t play to their standard and still scored 83. Saturday, although Syracuse let up 86, it got stops when it needed to and pulled out the win.

Published on February 9, 2025 at 1:44 pm

Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22