Only five seconds had ticked off the clock and Michael Gbinije took a dribble 2 feet back of the 3-point arc. Then he attacked the basket, blowing past Boston College guard Eli Carter as he finished a layup from the left side with his right hand.

It took 36 minutes and 29 seconds for Gbinije to make a shot against then-No. 6 North Carolina on Saturday. On Wednesday, it took all of eight seconds.

“He was very controlled. I think that’s a good word for his game today,” guard Trevor Cooney said. “Didn’t have many turnovers. He made plays, made the right plays. It’s just Mike, really.”

Gbinije scored 14 points against lowly Boston College (7-9, 0-2 Atlantic Coast) and led Syracuse (11-7, 1-4) to its first ACC win of the season. He scored 12 points in the first half, but was steady not scoring as much after the break. He had four steals, two assists and no turnovers, and also got to play off the ball with Frank Howard playing 14 minutes.

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MORE COVERAGE:

• What we learned from Syracuse basketball’s blowout win over Boston College
• Tyler Roberson’s solid performance against Boston College is cut short due to foul trouble
• Syracuse snaps 4-game losing streak, crushes Boston College in 62-40 win

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After Syracuse lost to UNC on Saturday, SU head coach Jim Boeheim jokingly said he’d have to leave Gbinije in even if he had a heart attack. Against BC, Gbinije didn’t come out until the walk-ons subbed on in the game’s final moments.

“I thought our offense had good pace,” Gbinije said. “And good flow as well. There wasn’t a lot of holding the ball. We kept it moving. Everybody got touches tonight. I think that was important for us.”

On three separate occasions, Gbinije attacked the basket with little resistance from the Eagles defense. His only make of the second half looked a like his first shot of the game, which also mirrored the first play off of Syracuse’s first timeout. The first gave Syracuse a lead. The second tied the game. And the third punctuated a win that was already in hand midway through the second half.

In other conference games this season, Gbinije has struggled. He scored just 10 points against Miami and North Carolina and shot a combined 6-of-27. Cooney said that, on Wednesday, he was able to slow the game down in his mind.

Said Boeheim: “Mike was just steady the whole game.”

Published on January 13, 2016 at 10:33 pm

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