Paradise Island, Bahamas — Syracuse and Connecticut, two old Big East rivals, got together for the first time in two years on Thursday here at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
The two former Big East powers acted like family coming together for a Thanksgiving feast. They might not have seen each other in a while, but it was like they had never been apart.
The Orange and the Huskies put on a show in the Imperial Arena, which at times sounded like Madison Square Garden with a throng of Syracuse fans shouting "Let's go, Orange!'' and a horde of Husky supporters answering "Let's go Huskies!''
Syracuse pulled out a 79-76 win over UConn, and the game wasn't decided until Tyler Roberson soared and snared the offensive rebound on Trevor Cooney's 3-point heave as the shot-clock ran out just 6 seconds ahead of the game clock. Once Roberson had secured the rebound, he fired to Gbinije, and the Orange ran out the clock.
Syracuse will face Texas A&M in the Battle for Atlantis title game Friday at 3 p.m. Texas A&M beat Gonzaga in the other semifinal.
Connecticut took a 44-39 lead and things looked dire for the Orange with Dajuan Coleman on the bench with four fouls and Tyler Roberson and Malachi Richardson each playing with three personals.
But Syracuse went on an 11-3 run that featured three consecutive 3-pointers from Tyler Lydon, Richardson and Michael Gbinije for a 50-47 lead with 12:42 left in the game.
Syracuse kept the momentum, playing aggressively at both ends of the floor. On the offensive end, Lydon and Tyler Roberson attacked the basket. Roberson took advantage of UConn's 7-foot center Amida Brimah, putting the ball on the floor and getting to the rim.
Then, the Orange started its running game. Gbinije turned a steal into a breakaway layup. On the next play, Gbinije threw a sweet lob to a streaking Roberson, who converted the dunk for a 65-55 lead with 7:45 remaining in the game.
UConn wasn't done, though. Rodney Purvis, a transfer from N.C. State, hit three 3-pointers in a two-minute span. Purvis' first three came with 6:02 remaining. It was his first 3-pointer of the game. Just over two minutes later, Purvis connected on his third trifecta, cutting SU's lead down to 73-71 with 3:52 on the clock.