Syracuse Surrenders 13-Point Lead at Virginia Tech, 101-95 (OT)

Ian Nicholas: With a 13-point lead and 11 minutes left, Syracuse was cruising towards clinching an ACC Tournament birth against Virginia Tech. Then, the Hokies found another gear, forced overtime, and beat the Orange, 101-95. On the road, one thing’s for certain: closing out games? Not as easy as riding a bike.

Jaquan Carlos: You gotta keep your foot on their necks. You can’t hold up,  you can’t let guys back in. Especially when you’re on the road. Guys on their home court aren’t going to quit, so you have to keep playing.

Adrian Autry: It’s hard to win on the road when you let a team score like that. I thought our first half was good. Our second half, we didn’t defend as good as the first half.

Carlos: That’s been our problem all year. We do a good job rebounding and all that, but it’s the key times when team’s are on a run with two or three minutes left and you need a stop and we don’t come up with it. Their guys miss and we don’t get the rebound.

Autry: We came out with good intentions. Right mindset, right intensity. In the second half, the only way they were getting back in the game was to take care of the basketball, taking good shots and defending. They got back in the game, and they play really well here. Even if they lose, anyone they play here, it’s a close game.

Nicholas: Syracuse dropped to 2-8 on the road in the regular season and has one more to win away from the Dome in unfamiliar territory. SMU is on the slate for the first ever. Tipoff is at 9:00. Reporting from Cassell Coliseum, Ian Nicholas, CitrusTV.