Syracuse, N.Y. — In one of the most spectacular Senior Day performances ever, Michael Gbinije scored a career-high 34 points to lead Syracuse to a 75-66 win over North Carolina State at the Carrier Dome on Saturday.
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Gbinije's 34 points eclipsed his previous career-high of 27 set last year against Duke. It also put him at 1,000 points in his three-year Syracuse career.
Gbinije provided the big shots all day long for the Orange. Syracuse led by as many as 17 points, but N.C. State closed to within 61-56 with just over five minutes left in the game.
Gbinije buried a clutch 3-pointer to boost the lead back to eight points. That shot gave Gbinije his 28th point of the game. That shot put him right on 1,000 points as a Syracuse player.
Gbinije made a career-high eight 3-pointers on 11 attempts from outside the arc.
Syracuse, which had lost its previous two games to Louisville and Pittsburgh, bounced back after a week-long break. The Orange improved to 19-10 overall and 9-7 in the ACC.
Syracuse will close out the regular season on the road with games at North Carolina on Monday and Florida State next Saturday.
North Carolina State fell to 14-15 for the season and 4-12 in the ACC.
Syracuse's defense shut down North Carolina State and the ACC's leading scorer Anthony "Cat'' Barber.
The Wolfpack made only 37 percent of its field-goal attempts. North Carolina State was just 4-for-17 (23 percent) from the 3-point line.
Barber, the ACC's leading scorer at 23.5 points per game, had just 7 points at halftime and finished with 15. He went 3-for-8 from the field.
Syracuse seniors bid Dome farewell
As the final home game of the season, Syracuse's game against North Carolina State marked the last game at the Carrier Dome for SU seniors Trevor Cooney, Gbinije and Christian White.
Cooney, a fifth-year senior, will leave Syracuse with more than 1,300 points. He is third on the school's career list for most 3-pointers made in a career behind only Gerry McNamara and Andy Rautins.
Gbinije came to Syracuse after spending his freshman year at Duke. After three years at Syracuse, Gbinije is closing in on 1,000 points.
White, a native of Rochester, transferred to Syracuse after playing at Monmouth University for two years. He came to SU as a walk-on. While practicing with the team this year, White elected not to play in any games in order to preserve a final year of eligibility. He hopes to play at a Division II school next year.
Recruits in the house
A few Syracuse recruits were at Saturday's game at the Carrier Dome.
Both of SU's commitments in the 2016 class were on hand. Matthew Moyer, a 6-8 forward at South Kent (Conn.) Prep, and Tyus Battle, a 6-6 guard at St. Joseph's of Metuchen, N.J., came up on unofficial visits.
Meanwhile, Hamidou Diallo, a 6-5 junior at Putnam (Conn.) Science Academy, was also at the game. Diallo, who is rated among the top 20 players in the 2017 class, is seen as a key recruit for the Orange.