Men's Basketball

John Gillon delivers when Syracuse needs it most in upset of No. 6 Florida State

Codie Yan | Staff Photographer

The fifth-year senior dropped 21 points and facilitated the offense as well as he has all season.

By Connor GrossmanSenior Staff Writer

Four years spent between the Sun Belt and Mountain West Conferences meant John Gillon was removed far from the spotlight.

Never in one season with Arkansas-Little Rock or three at Colorado State did Gillon get the exposure he’s getting now, whether or not he wants it. Never did he face the outrageous competition he’s seeing this year in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Never had Gillon managed what he did on Saturday afternoon against No. 6 Florida State: Beat a ranked team.

“This is a special game to me,” Gillon said. “… It was just a good feeling.”

His mother flew in from Houston to see one of the biggest games of her son’s career and Gillon keyed Syracuse’s (13-9, 5-4 ACC) 82-72 upset over the Seminoles (18-4, 6-3). Seeing his mother was just an extra layer of icing for the fifth-year senior, who dropped 21 points and facilitated the offense as well as he has all season.

This game was a culmination of sorts for Gillon. All season he’s jockeyed for playing time with Frank Howard. He’s gotten contentious before with Jim Boeheim on the bench and drawn criticism for poor decision making with the ball.



But that didn’t matter on Saturday. He played 36 minutes, primarily drew praise from SU’s head coach and drove into the paint exceptionally well to create shot opportunities against a defense showcasing two 7-footers.

“We’ve been trying to get him all year to get in the lane and then find people instead of trying to take a shot,” Boeheim said. “He’s doing better at that.”

As Syracuse began to build on a sizable lead at the end of the first half, it appeared Gillon was about to attempt the acrobatics at the basket that Boeheim wants to avoid. Gillon easily danced around FSU’s one-man press at half court and elevated as he moved through the paint.

But instead of whipping the ball around for a risky layup try, he pulled it in and zipped a pass across the key to a waiting Tyler Roberson. The 6-foot-8 forward buried it in on an and-1 bucket as the Carrier Dome rocked. Tyler Lydon retreated to the other side of the court, pumping his arms as he willed the crowd noise to grow even louder

Gillon wasn’t the star of any of SU’s highlight-reel plays on Saturday. He was the key everyone turned, and that’s exactly what the Orange has needed.

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“He didn’t hesitate going into the paint,” freshman Taurean Thompson said. “Every time he went to the paint he made a great pass to a shooter, got fouled or made a layup.

“He was fueling us today.”

Gillon did plenty to help himself against Florida State, but the visitors defensive scheme only aided in his efforts. The 6-foot point guard compared the Seminoles’ defense to an NBA type, where defenders rotate to help cover. At times that meant defenders would come outside the lane to help stop a last-ditch effort from Gillon to get to the basket, but that left open plenty of shooters for him to find.

Conversely, having Lydon in the game for 40 minutes also helps clear the paint. His ability to hit from long range drew away Florida State’s tallest defenders at times, allowing Gillon to trace a clear path.

“Sometimes I won’t drive because I see all the (defenders in the paint),” Gillon said. “But today, I saw them a little off balance so I tried to attack holes where I could.”

In the final three minutes, Gillon strode to the free-throw line 12 times. Eleven of those shots fell through the net, and the senior ultimately scored the Orange’s last 13 points.

It was Gillon who staked Syracuse to a lead it would not let go of, pinning up NCAA Tournament hopes a little longer, and it was Gillon who forged his own path to get his first-ever win over a ranked opponent. SU never needed it more.





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