Tyus Battle leads Syracuse to upset of No. 1 Duke in overtime

Duke's RJ Barrett (5) and Jack White (41) defend while Syracuse's Elijah Hughes (33) drives to the basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Durham, N.C., Monday, Jan. 14, 2019. Credit: AP/Gerry Broome
DURHAM, N.C. — Tyus Battle scored a season-high 32 points, and Syracuse used its 2-3 zone defense to rattle No. 1 Duke in overtime as the Orange pulled off the upset, 95-91 on Monday night.
Paschal Chukwu added 10 points and a career-high 18 rebounds while Elijah Hughes added 20 points, Frank Howard finished with 16 and Oshae Brissett had 14 for the Orange (12-5, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Syracuse held Duke to 2-of-8 shooting in overtime and to just 21 percent shooting from 3-point range while earning its second victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium in three years.
Battle's jumper about a minute into OT gave Syracuse the lead for good at 89-88. Duke followed that with four consecutive empty possessions — three missed 3s and a turnover that Howard turned into an easy layup.
RJ Barrett's 3 pulled the Blue Devils to 93-91, but Chukwu countered with a dunk from Howard to make it a five-point game.
Zion Williamson had a career-high 35 points and 10 rebounds, and his free throw with 16.2 seconds left in regulation tied it at 85 for Duke (14-2, 3-1), but he missed a second go-ahead foul shot. Brissett grabbed the rebound for Syracuse, but Battle's 3-pointer before the buzzer bounced off the back iron.
Barrett finished with 23 points on 8-of-30 shooting, and added 16 rebounds and nine assists.
BIG PICTURE
Syracuse: The Orange looked nothing like the group that shot a season-worst 31.6 percent in a home loss to Georgia Tech two nights earlier. Their zone defense routinely had Duke settling for 3-pointers — the Blue Devils shot 43 of them, making only nine.
Duke: The night took an ominous turn for the Blue Devils when starting point guard Tre Jones suffered a right shoulder injury before the first TV timeout. Jones' injury has the potential to be catastrophic for Duke, with Jones tops in the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio while also serving as an elite on-the-ball defender on a team that ranks third in Division I in Ken Pomeroy's defensive efficiency rankings.