Buffalo, N.Y. — Tyler Ennis thought the shot was going in.
Even though the freshman point guard had not made a shot outside the lane all night, Ennis still thought his last-second 3-pointer was good.
Dayton's Dyshawn Pierre had missed the second of two free throws with 7 seconds remaining, giving Syracuse the option of trying to tie the game or winning it with a three. Syracuse trailed Dayton, 55-53, with time running out as Ennis dribbled up the court.
The Orange had not made a 3-pointer the entire game, missing nine from beyond the arc. Ennis had missed four of those.
Still, Ennis thought he had won the game.
"I thought I got a really good look,'' Ennis said. "I didn't think I had enough time to get to the basket. I think the look I got, I think everybody was happy with it. I thought it was good.''
The ball hit the back of the rim and bounced away. The 11th-seeded Dayton Flyers had the win and their first trip to the Sweet 16 since 1984.
Dayton beat No. 3 seed Syracuse, 55-53, here at the First Niagara Center on Saturday night.
Syracuse, which had begun the season with a school-record 25 consecutive victories, was headed home — a short trip back down the New York State Thruway that would feel a lot longer after Saturday's narrow loss.
"This is a tough loss,'' SU coach Jim Boeheim said, "as they all are this time of the year.''
Syracuse, which had been offensively challenged for most of the season, suffered through one of its worst offensive games of the year.
The 53 points marked the Orange's second-lowest total of the season. Syracuse scored 49 in a win over Miami on Jan. 4.
Syracuse (28-6) failed to make at least one 3-point shot in a game for the first time since going 0-for-6 in a loss to Providence in the 1995 Big East Tournament. The last time Syracuse missed more than 10 3-pointers in a game in which it didn't make at least one was against Miami on March 1, 1994 when the Orange went 0-for-11 on threes.
"I thought we did an unbelievable job of fighting to hang in there when you're not making anything,'' Boeheim said. "When you're not making anything from the perimeter, it's hard.''
But on each of its last two possessions, Syracuse took perimeter jump shots. Ennis attempted both of them.
Boeheim said Ennis' last-second 3-pointer was a good shot — "That was the right play, a chance to win the game'' — but he wanted Ennis to attack the basket on the previous play.
Ennis went coast-to-coast and scored with 16 seconds to go to bring Syracuse to within 54-53 with 16 seconds remaining. Syracuse called timeout and went to its fullcourt press. The Orange forced Dayston's Jordan Sibert to step out of bounds and got the ball back with 14 seconds on the clock.
"With 13 seconds to go,'' Boeheim said, "we wanted to get it to Tyler and drive the ball.''
The Orange had been going to the basket with success for the last 10 minutes. Ennis and C.J. Fair had kept Syracuse in the fray time and again with forays to the basket.
However, for reasons Boeheim didn't know or didn't share, Ennis pulled up for a 17-foot jumper. And missed.
"We'd just driven the ball for three baskets,'' Boeheim said. "I don't know why he settled for the jump shot. There was plenty of time. He had space. I'm not sure why.''
Ennis said he took the shot because it was there.
"I had some space,'' Ennis said in a corner of a quiet, despondent Syracuse locker room. "They were guarding me off a little bit. I think it was (Devin) Oliver on me. Whoever it was, I think they knew I was going to drive. Any other night, I think that was a good shot. My shots weren't falling tonight from the outside. Maybe it would've been better to drive. I think I had the confidence.''
Ennis paused for a moment.
"I thought it was going in.''
Syracuse would foul. Dayton hit one free throw, which set up Ennis' final 3-point shot. It would have won the game, but the Orange's last 3-pointer of the game had the same result as the first nine.
All season long, the Syracuse Orange had grown accustomed to seeing Ennis, the unflappable freshman point guard, make clutch plays or hit big shots to win games.
Syracuse trailed for most of Saturday's game, including the game's final six minutes. Yet the Orange never went away.
"Even to the last minute,'' Ennis said, "I think we showed heart.''
From his 28-point effort in the Maui Invitational against California to his game-winning 3-pointer from 35 feet to beat Pittsburgh, Ennis produced some of the most memorable moments of the season.
"We always found a way to pull ourselves through in games like that,'' SU center Rakeem Christmas said. "We always give the ball to Tyler. We're always going to back him up and believe in him. Whenever he took a shot, we thought it was good.''
Ennis would end up with 19 points on 7-for-21 shooting, while Fair scored 14. The Syracuse senior made only four of his 14 field goal attempts. Fair pulled down 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double.
As a team, the Orange shot a meager 38 percent from the floor. Dayton won despite making only 41 percent of its shots. The Flyers became the first team this season to beat Syracuse while scoring less than 60 points. Syracuse had been 14-0 when holding teams under 60.
Trevor Cooney, who had seemingly broken out of his long shooting slump with four 3-pointers and 18 points in Syracuse's second round win over Western Michigan, slumped again. The sophomore guard missed all four of his 3-point shot and scored just two points.
Jerami Grant, who had averaged 17.0 points in SU's last three games following his return from an injured back, was nearly invisible against Dayton. Grant had just four points and six rebounds. Normally, a player who draws fouls with his moves to the basket, Grant had just one free throw attempt on Saturday.
The loss was a stunning end to a season in which Syracuse had repeatedly made big plays at the end of close games.
"That's what happens,'' Boeheim said of the NCAA tournament and season-ending games. "Somebody gets beat on the last play, and tonight, it was us.''
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