By MIKE McCURRY
Dennis Smith Jr. messed around and got a triple-double–his second already this season–and still wasn’t the best player on the PNC Arena floor on Wednesday.
That distinction belongs to Syracuse grad-transfer John Gillon, who went off for 43 points–the first 40-plus point performance by an Orange player since Gerry McNamara in 2004–while leading Syracuse to a come-from-behind, 100-93 victory at NC State in overtime.
Syracuse, 0-7 away from the Carrier Dome this year entering Wednesday, trailed 75-59 with 8:44 to play, as Smith Jr. (13 points, 11 rebounds, 15 assists) and Maverick Rowan (career-high 31 points) were having field days.
The Orange quickly clawed back, however, as NC State reverted to its lackadaisical defensive tendencies.
White, who made 9-of-10 from behind the arc and 14-of-14 at the charity stripe, sent the affair into overtime on a frantic end-of-game sequence usually reserved for March.
Andrew White added 28 points for Syracuse. Tyler Lydon dropped 15 to go along with 7 rebounds. Don’t look now, but Syracuse has suddenly won three straight contests. The Orange have a major opportunity on Saturday when they host Virginia. Meantime, DSJ made some ACC history in a losing effort, as the freshman became the first player in league history to collect multiple triple-doubles in conference play in a single season.lolololololol pic.twitter.com/cQMYPM8Zna
— Peter Nygaard (@RetepAdam) February 2, 2017
Photo: @Cuse_MBB Follow Mike on Twitter Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter And like ZAGS on FacebookNo ACC player has ever recorded two triple-doubles against league opponents in a career, let alone a season*. *-entering tonight https://t.co/RpSohyj18P
— Patrick Stevens (@D1scourse) February 2, 2017
