ATLANTA – Syracuse (16-12, 8-7 Atlantic Coast) couldn’t finish off yet another comeback from down double digits, falling to Georgia Tech (16-11, 7-7), 71-65, at McCamish Pavilion. The Orange cut its deficit to as few as two despite trailing by 13 with under eight minutes left, but Syracuse ultimately dropped its third consecutive game and missed a chance at grabbing a much-needed road win against a fellow bubble team.

Here’s what we learned from Sunday night’s game.

Jim Boeheim wouldn’t bite on referee criticism

When asked his opinion on referee Doug Shows’ illegal screen call on Tyler Roberson with 16.6 seconds remaining and Syracuse down two, Boeheim took the financially sound route.

“I don’t talk about calls,” he said.

While their head coach wouldn’t budge, the two players directly involved in the controversial play didn’t hold back.

Roberson: “When I was setting it, it seemed like the defender a little bit like, flopped, and I think he called a foul from that.”

John Gillon, who maneuvered around the screen before it was called: “I feel like a call like that shouldn’t be called that late in the game, especially when there’s not that much contact and it doesn’t really give us an advantage.”

Andrew White’s streak of scoring 20 or more is finished

White had a chance to tie Hakim Warrick seven-game streak of scoring 20 or more points, which the former SU star accomplished in the 2004-05 season, but White only scored 17 in Syracuse’s loss to the Yellow Jackets.

A game after missing 12 3-pointers, the fifth-year senior missed eight on Sunday, shooting 4-of-12 from behind the arc and 6-of-16 overall. Three of those long balls came in a 1:26 span late in the first half, and White played relatively ineffective for the rest of the game.

“Hopefully next time I can cover the slack or help out if one of our other guys are struggling,” White said.

To Boeheim, there is no Syracuse point guard competition

Gillon turned the ball over five times and shot 2-of-10 from the field while being showered with “airball” chants for the latter part of the first half and almost the entire second half. Gillon’s first made 3 in six tries cut Georgia Tech’s lead to 3 but it was far too late to salvage his lackluster night.

“I just wasn’t hitting open shots,” Gillon said. “That opens up a lot. They’re more set, they don’t have to run out as hard so it’s hard for me to drive. Just get in the gym more and try to correct things.”

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MORE COVERAGE

• Syracuse’s NCAA Tournament hopes suffer blow with 71-65 loss at Georgia Tech
• Fan reactions from Syracuse’s crushing loss to Georgia Tech

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Backup Frank Howard showed positive signs in his 12 minutes, including a pair of assists, a steal and an impressive and-one on a drive into GT center Ben Lammers. But when asked if he considered giving Howard more playing time, Boeheim didn’t waver.

“The only games we’ve won, John Gillon has won for us,” Boeheim said. “He’s the best point guard we’ve got by 10 miles.”

Published on February 19, 2017 at 10:57 pm

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman