Photo by: Charles Wainwright
Fitting Close to Gbinije's Dome Career
2/27/2016 8:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball
On his final time stepping onto the Carrier Dome floor, Michael Gbinije made it a special one.
Scoring a career-high 34 points, on a staggering eight three pointers, Gbinije caught fire in a crucial ACC contest to lift the Orange over NC State on Saturday, reaching the 1,000-point plateau in an Orange uniform in the process.
The graduate student was lifted by head coach Jim Boeheim with 9.5 seconds left and the Orange fans delivered a standing ovation for Gbinije and fellow graduate student Trevor Cooney as they left the floor for the final time at the Dome.
"It just came down to Michael having to put us on his back," said head coach Jim Boeheim. "He made a tough pull-up in the lane, the two threes that he made were huge momentum threes. It was his game. He had a tremendous game, probably as good as any senior has ever had that I can recall. He was great tonight and he was the difference."
Not only did Gbinije provide a game-high 34 points, but he also dished out six assists, blocked three shots and collected four rebounds in the win.
He scored as efficiently as he did often, going 11-of-18 from the field including 8-of-11 from long range as well.
"I just wanted to win," Gbinije said. "Me shooting the ball tonight was the best option but I'm honestly way happier we won than about my individual performance."
The game was a fitting conclusion for the graduate student who has lifted the Orange on his back many times this season, scoring double digits in every game of the year, and providing the final time in front of the home crowd to be a career day.
"It hasn't honestly really hit me yet," Gbinije said. "Syracuse has been a great place for me. I really love Syracuse. Syracuse has great fans and students who I've met. Syracuse has a lot of great things and I love it."
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Scoring a career-high 34 points, on a staggering eight three pointers, Gbinije caught fire in a crucial ACC contest to lift the Orange over NC State on Saturday, reaching the 1,000-point plateau in an Orange uniform in the process.
The graduate student was lifted by head coach Jim Boeheim with 9.5 seconds left and the Orange fans delivered a standing ovation for Gbinije and fellow graduate student Trevor Cooney as they left the floor for the final time at the Dome.
"It just came down to Michael having to put us on his back," said head coach Jim Boeheim. "He made a tough pull-up in the lane, the two threes that he made were huge momentum threes. It was his game. He had a tremendous game, probably as good as any senior has ever had that I can recall. He was great tonight and he was the difference."
Not only did Gbinije provide a game-high 34 points, but he also dished out six assists, blocked three shots and collected four rebounds in the win.
He scored as efficiently as he did often, going 11-of-18 from the field including 8-of-11 from long range as well.
"I just wanted to win," Gbinije said. "Me shooting the ball tonight was the best option but I'm honestly way happier we won than about my individual performance."
The game was a fitting conclusion for the graduate student who has lifted the Orange on his back many times this season, scoring double digits in every game of the year, and providing the final time in front of the home crowd to be a career day.
"It hasn't honestly really hit me yet," Gbinije said. "Syracuse has been a great place for me. I really love Syracuse. Syracuse has great fans and students who I've met. Syracuse has a lot of great things and I love it."
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