Orange Claims Battle 4 Atlantis Title

Friday, November 27

Paradise Island, Bahamas

3 p.m.

Syracuse University

6-0

Texas A&M

6-1

Syracuse

Texas A&M

11/27/2015 5:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PARADIS ISLAND, Bahamas -- Syracuse is the Battle 4 Atlantis champion after defeating No. 25 Texas A&M, 74-67, in the tournament final. The Orange outscored the Aggies, 13-6, during the final 6:24 to secure the victory and remain unbeaten this season.

Graduate student Michael Gbinije led Syracuse with 20 points and was named the tournament MVP. Graduate student Trevor Cooney had 15 points and was also named to the All-Tournament Team. Freshmen Malachi Richardson and Tyler Lydon joined Gbinije and Cooney in double figures as Richardson finished with 16 and Lydon added 13 off the bench.

Syracuse (6-0) trailed by two at halftime, but quickly erased the deficit on a three-pointer by Richardson. Texas A&M (6-1) answered with a three of its own to retake lead. Neither team was able to pull away as the second half featured six ties.

The score was knotted at 61-61 with 6:24 remaining when Gbinije hit a three well beyond the arc to spark the Orange on its scoring run that secured the victory. Following a Texas A&M basket, Lydon nailed his third three-pointer of the game and Cooney added a pair of free throws to put Syracuse up 69-63 with 3:39 remaining.

Cooney stole the ball on Texas A&M's next possession and then converted an old-fashion three-point play on the offensive end to extend the scoring streak. The Aggies hit two free throws to cut the lead to seven, but Gbinije answered on the other end with a pair of free throws to give the Orange a nine-point advantage. DJ Hogg hit a layup at the buzzer for the 74-67 final.

Gbinije started the game with a three-pointer, but Texas A&M scored the next seven points to take a four-point lead. Cooney hit a three-pointer at the 16:32 mark to spark the Orange on a 10-0 scoring run. Junior Tyler Roberson had four points during the run as Syracuse took its largest lead of the first half at 13-7 with 13:42 on the clock.

With the Orange leading, 23-19, the Aggies recorded nine unanswered points and led 28-23 at the 3:54 mark. Cooney hit a layup for Syracuse's first points in more than five minutes of action, but Texas A&M responded with five straight points to extend its advantage to 33-25.

The Aggies led 35-28 with 41 seconds remaining in the half, but Gbinije recorded five points in the final six seconds to cut the margin to two. Gbinije hit a deep three, and then stole the inbounds pass around midcourt. Texas A&M was called for a foul and Gbinije was awarded three free throws with less than a second on the clock. He hit 2-of-3 attempts to cut the Aggies' lead to 35-33 at intermission.

Syracuse was 22-for-53 (41.5 percent) from the floor, including 11-for-25 from three-point range (44.0 percent), while Texas A&M was 27-for-64 from the field and just 6-for-20 (30.0 percent) from behind the arc. The Orange was 19-for-24 from the free throw line, outscoring the Aggies by 12 from the charity stripe.

Up next for Syracuse is the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Orange hosts Wisconsin in the Carrier Dome on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 7:15 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the Carrier Dome Box Office or by calling 1-888-DOME-TIX.