BUFFALO — If these were to be the last two shots Tyler Ennis ever takes for Syracuse, they will forever be two shots he wants back.
With a tense, taut game on the line and his desperate team turning its eyes to its freshman star guard, Ennis in the closing eight seconds took one shot Jim Boeheim detested, another the coach could live with. Neither found the bottom of the net and just like that, Syracuse on Saturday night was bounced from the NCAA Tournament with a stunning 55-53 loss to upstart Dayton.
“Sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way,’’ the baby-faced Ennis said softly.
Everything hung in the balance as Ennis, after Dayton’s Dyshawn Pierre missed a free throw with 6.5 seconds remaining, rushed up the court as Syracuse, down by two points, was out of timeouts. Ennis pulled up and let fire a 3-point attempt, a great look. The shot was on target but carried just a bit too long, hit off the back of the rim and bounced harmlessly away, allowing the Flyers to rejoice as Ennis and his teammates collapsed in a heap of despair.
“I didn’t think I had enough time to get all the way to the basket,’’ said Ennis, who drilled a 40-foot game-winner this season to beat Pittsburgh. “I got a good look at it, I thought it was good.”
It was a shot Boeheim accepted as the best possible shot.
“The last shot was a great shot, that was the right play, a chance to win the game,’’ Boeheim said.
With eight seconds left, after Syracuse, trailing 54-53, forced a turnover in the backcourt, Ennis — who struggled all night from outside but was a dervish driving to the basket — pulled up for a jumper that missed.
“I don’t know why he settled for the jump shot,’’ Boeheim said. “There was plenty of time. He had space. I’m not sure why.’’
For every tale of woe there is a storybook tale. Dayton, the No. 11 seed, had not been in the Sweet 16 in 30 years, back when Roosevelt Chapman led the Flyers in 1984 to the Elite Eight. Now the Flyers head to Memphis, Tenn., and Syracuse makes the sad two-hour drive home.
“It’s an incredible feeling,’’ said Devin Oliver, a senior forward for Dayton.
What a bitter ending for Syracuse (28-6), which had been the No. 1 team in the country after a 25-0 start and earned a No. 3 seed in the South Regional. It was fitting the last gasp for the Orange was a miss from deep, as they went 0-for-10 from beyond the arch — the first time since 1995 they failed to hit at least one 3-pointer in a game — and struggled all night to score.
Ennis got 17 of his 19 points in the second half and his drives kept his team in the game. But he ended shooting 7-of-21, a rotten way to finish a brilliant freshman season as he now contemplates staying in college or moving on to the NBA.
“I haven’t thought about it at all,’’ Ennis said.
Ennis wasn’t the only culprit. C.J. Fair (14 points) shot 4-of-14 and Trevor Cooney managed just two points on 1-of-6 shooting. Syracuse’s 18 points in the first half was a season low.
Pierre led Dayton’s balanced effort with 14 points, followed by Jordan Sibert with 10 and Vee Sanford with eight.
The final minute was frantic. Sibert’s 3-pointer with 47.7 seconds left put Dayton ahead 52-46, but Ennis made it 52-49 on a traditional 3-point play. Two more Ennis free throws got Syracuse within 52-51, but Pierre hit two from the line to make it 54-51 Dayton. Ennis’ drive cut the deficit to 54-53 and a trap in the backcourt caused Sibert to step out of bounds for a turnover.
Granted a reprieve, Ennis missed from deep and Pierre, fouled, made both free throws with 6.5 seconds left. Then Ennis missed the potential game-winner.
“That thing was on line, and he went for the win,’’ Dayton coach Archie Miller said of Ennis’ final shot. “The thing that went through my head was the game at Pitt when I saw that highlight on SportsCenter 7,000 times when he banged the 3 on Pitt. When I saw him raise up I didn’t feel good about it.’’
That feeling changed when Ennis came down.
“Somebody gets beat on the last play,’’ Boeheim said, “and tonight it was us.’’