Twice in a three-minute span, Tyus Battle found himself in a precarious spot: Final seconds bleeding off the shot clock, defenders clogging the paint and no quick outlet pass to make.

Without having much time to think, the freshman trudged forward against Virginia’s defense and slid into a pocket of space. He unveiled a jump shot that had never been steadier in any game this season and sunk a pair of baskets with the shot clock flashing red zeroes.

Both shots elevated a one-possession lead into two, and were essential in the most important half of basketball SU has played this season.

“When the shot clock’s running out, I know it’s a 1-on-1 game,” Battle said. “Usually you have to look for your shot and make something happen. You can get to the line, hit your teammates for an open shot or create space to make your own shot.

“I love moments like that.”

All afternoon, Battle seemed to be making the right choice with the ball in his hands. Most often that meant shooting it himself, leading to a career-high 23 points in Syracuse’s (15-9, 7-4 Atlantic Coast) 66-62 win against No. 9 Virginia (17-5, 7-3). When UVA’s vaunted pack-line defense turned away so many early Orange possessions, Battle was the first Orange player to find answers.

He sunk two of Syracuse’s three 3-pointers in the first half, when nearly every other player was unsuccessfully trying for the same contested jumpers. John Gillon and Frank Howard struggled to get in the paint, forcing SU to try and create its own shots from deep. It hasn’t been a strength of this team all season, and it looked just as troubled in the first half.

But Battle immediately began blazing a trail to erase a 12-point halftime deficit. He jumpstarted his 13-point second half with a 3 on the first possession.

“It was great to see (Battle) answer the bell, because he had been kind of quiet the past couple games,” said Andrew White, who matched Battle’s 23-point performance. “He’s always there right on time. Tonight was his best game of the season.”

Given how UVA hedges ball screens, SU had to change the way it ran its offense. Virginia defenders angled themselves toward the paint, blocking any passing lanes for the Orange to work the ball down low.

The result was a frustrating passing game for Syracuse, aimlessly swinging the ball around the arc before one player decided his contested shot was better than anyone else’s. So in the second half, Battle led an SU offense that essentially abandoned the ball screen.

He was unleashed to freely attack Virginia’s defense, either driving in for his own shot or faking one before making an outlet pass. The repeated attacks up the middle shuffled the Cavaliers’ defense around, and in almost a complete transformation from the first half, Syracuse’s offense was fluidly running against Virginia.

Battle only shot 3-for-4 in the second half, but that was emblematic of the more selective attacks from SU that allowed it to shoot 73.7 percent from the field.

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MORE COVERAGE

• What we learned from Syracuse’s 66-62 comeback win over No. 9 Virginia
• Boeheim’s 1,000th* win brings importance to a once-lost season
• Jim Boeheim on unofficial 1,000 wins: ‘I know how many wins I’ve had’

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“He’s composed out there,” Tyler Roberson said of Battle. “For him to play big like that and score 20-something points, not a lot of freshman can do that.”

The finishing touches of Battle’s afternoon came with 29 seconds on the clock and Syracuse clinging to a two-point lead. But contrary to the rest of the game, Battle wasn’t trying to knife through Cavaliers. He was still and composed at the free-throw line, where he had already missed twice from earlier.

This time, both shots fell through. It wasn’t long after that when Syracuse fans swarmed the court, celebrating the momentous upset and milestone win for Jim Boeheim.

On a day that will make headlines for the accomplishments by the 41-year head coach, Boeheim took a moment to acknowledge his star freshman guard. Because Battle, in a sea of optimism suddenly blanketing the Orange, is as promising as anything else Syracuse has going for it.

“Tyus was great,” Boeheim said. “This is the best game he’s played. He was fabulous.”

Published on February 4, 2017 at 6:10 pm

Contact Connor: [email protected] | @connorgrossman