SYRACUSE, N.Y. - He's listed as 6-foot but is probably closer to 5-foot-10.
Still, Syracuse point guard John Gillon was the biggest man on the court Saturday as the Orange upset No. 6 Florida State 82-72 in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at the Carrier Dome.
The fleet-footed Gillon scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half, including Syracuse's final 13 points, as the Orange (13-9, 5-4 in the ACC) held off a furious Florida State comeback. Gillon, a fifth-year senior transfer from Colorado State, did most of his damage at the foul line by making 13 of 14 free throws, and he also had 11 assists with just two turnovers.
"There's no doubt that he has jets in his feet, and he's very quick and fast," Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton said. "I thought that he lulled us to sleep with his excellent ball handling and dribbling skills, and then he'll attack the basket."
Trailing by 18 at the half, Florida State (18-4, 6-3) cut Syracuse's lead to two on five occasions in the second half, the last time with 1:48?remaining as Dwayne Bacon's third 3-pointer of the half pulled the Seminoles within 72-70. But the Orange spread the floor on the offensive end, putting the ball in Gillon's hands and forcing Florida State to foul him as he drove to the basket.
Gillon made 11 of 12 free throws in the final three minutes and drove for a layup to make it 74-70 after Bacon?s 3-pointer.
"When it was close we made the plays, just like the other night (in an 81-76 win over Wake Forest," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "We made good plays down the stretch defensively and got John to the foul line. He made a great drive on that one (layup), that was a big play, and he made his free throws."
"I'm just trying to lead; I have to in that (point guard) position," said Gillon, who scored a total of 14 points in Syracuse's previous four games. "If I'm not being a leader, the team's in trouble."
Andrew White, another fifth-year senior transfer, scored a game-high 24 points with nine rebounds, and Tyler Lydon notched his sixth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 boards. Lydon tied his career-high with six blocked shots, including five in the first half as the Orange built a 44-26 lead.
White and Lydon finished the game's two signature plays. Lydon timed his leap perfectly to slam in a missed shot to make it 62-58; and Tyus Battle raced the length of the floor to save Lydon's football pass to White, who drilled his fourth 3-pointer of the game to give Syracuse a 69-62 advantage.
"Those are the kind of possessions that I live for, the big shot, the big situations," White said.
After combining for 11 points in the first half, Florida State?s star trio of Bacon, Jonathan Isaac and Xavier Rathan-Mayes combined for 43 of the Seminoles? 46 second-half points.
Bacon and Isaac each scored 19 points, Isaac added 12 rebounds, and Rathan-Mayes scored 16 points with five assists.
It was the second consecutive game that Florida State couldn't overcome a disastrous first half against an unranked opponent. The Seminoles, who lost two consecutive games for the first time this season, fell behind Georgia Tech 41-15 at the half Wednesday and lost 78-56.
On Saturday, the Seminoles were outscored 31-12 in the final nine minutes of the first half and shot 31.3 percent (10 for 32) with 11 turnovers in the half. Syracuse's Tyler Roberson, who entered the game averaging 6.2 points per game, scored 10 points and Lydon added eight in that 31-12 run.
"The first half is what killed us in the last two games," Bacon said. "We've just got to forget about last two games, they're in the past now, and come out and compete for the rest of ACC play."
NOTES:
-- Florida State sophomore G Dwayne Bacon, who was recently named to the midseason watch list for the Oscar Robertson Trophy awarded to the nation's best player, reached double figures in scoring for the 31st consecutive game -- the longest streak in the ACC.
-- Depending on your point of view, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim is either three wins away from 900 career wins, or four wins away from 1,000 as the NCAA vacated 101 wins from 2004-07 and 2010-12 because of NCAA violations.
-- Florida State will play its third consecutive road game Wednesday at Miami, which knocked off No. 9 North Carolina Saturday. It is just the third time in the Seminoles' 26 years in the ACC that they will play three consecutive road games. The Orange travel to North Carolina State on Wednesday.
