Syracuse, N.Y. -- John Gillon called his shot in a text to an old high school teammate.

This past Tuesday, the night before Syracuse was set to host No. 10 Duke at the Carrier Dome, Gillon texted Rasheed Sulaimon and predicted that he was going to beat the Blue Devils.

Gillon and Sulaimon grew up together in Houston. They became friends in the sixth grade and wound up playing together at Houston's Strake Jesuit High School.

In the message to Sulaimon, Gillon promised an Orange win and also said he would give Sulaimon a shout-out.

"I'm going to beat Duke,'' Gillon said in the message. "I'm going to shout you out after the game.

Sulaimon responded, "HaHa! That'd be funny.''

"Yeah, we talked. He just laughed.''

On Wednesday, Gillon delivered. He banked in a 27-footer at the buzzer to lift Syracuse to a 78-75 win over the Blue Devils.

Now, the two Houston natives have both hit dramatic shots that highlight the Syracuse-Duke series.

Three years ago, in the first ACC matchup between Syracuse and Duke, Sulaimon stunned an NCAA-record crowd of 35,446 fans at the Carrier Dome with a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Ironically, Syracuse led 78-75; the same score by which it won on Wednesday. Duke took the ball out of bounds with 4.6 seconds left. Sulaimon took the ball just over halfcourt and launched his 3-pointer to tie the game.

Syracuse, however, would go onto win that game 91-89.

"Rasheed's tied the game,'' Gillon said. "I one-upped him.''

In his post-game interview with ESPN, Gillon said, "This is for Rasheed.'' Few people knew who he meant. Sulaimon did. He had seen Gillon's game-winner.

When Gillon finally got to his phone in the Syracuse locker room, there was a message from Sulaimon, who is now playing for the Charlotte Hornets' D-League affiliate the Greensboro Swarm, waiting for him.

"He said I can't believe you actually did it,'' Gillon said.

"I appreciate you,'' added Sulaimon.