Gbinije Leads ‘Cuse Past Wolfpack, 75-66

Saturday, February 27

Syracuse, N.Y.

2:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

(19-10) (9-7)

NC State

(14-15) (4-12)

NC State

Syracuse

2/27/2016 4:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

SYRACUSE, N.Y.- Graduate student Michael Gbinije exploded for a career-high 34 points and led Syracuse (19-10, 9-7 ACC) to a 75-66 win against North Carolina State (14-15, 4-12 ACC) on Senior Day at the Carrier Dome. Gbinije, Trevor Cooney and Christian White were all honored before tipoff.

Gbinije tallied his 1,000th point at Syracuse on the afternoon, as well. Gbinije also set new personal bests with eight three pointers and 11 field goals in the win. The 34 points from Gbinije are the most by any Orange player this season.

The graduate student finished 11-of-18 from the floor, including an 8-of-13 mark from beyond the arc. Gbinije also dished out six assists and recorded three blocks in the victory. Freshmen Malachi Richardson and Tyler Lydon combined for 24 points, finishing with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

The Orange only trailed once for the entire afternoon, coming in the opening moments when NC State scored the first two points of the contest at the 18:52 mark. Syracuse led by as many as 17 points in the second half before closing out with the nine-point win.

After trailing by two just one minute into the game, both sides went back and forth over the next seven minutes. Syracuse produced on an 8-0 run that resulted in the largest lead of the first half at nine with eight minutes to go, 22-13. Gbinije connected for three trifectas in the first 12 minutes of the game, including two on the run.

After five consecutive points from NC State's Anthony Barber, the Wolfpack shortened their deficit to four, 22-18. Each team traded baskets for the remainder of the half until a three from Richardson with six seconds left delivered Syracuse a 34-26 lead at the break.

The Orange scored the first seven points of the second half, putting Syracuse up by 15 at the 17:47 mark. Redshirt senior DaJuan Coleman finished off a three-point play and Richardson connected for one of his three 3-pointers in the early stages of second half.

The closest the Wolfpack came to Syracuse in the second half was six points on two separate occasions, coming with about six minutes left. Despite a few pushes by NC State to pull close, Gbinije remained the answer for Syracuse, knocking down big shots to keep the Orange on top.

NC State had four players finish in double figures, including a team-high 18 points from Caleb Martin.

Syracuse is on the road for its two final home games. The Orange will travel to take on North Carolina on Monday at 7 p.m. Both live video and live stats can be accessed via Cuse.com.