Syracuse, N.Y. — The Syracuse Orange staged an improbable rally from nine points down in the last four minutes for a 72-70 win over Virginia Tech on Tuesday night at the Carrier Dome.

Syracuse's Michael Gbinije scored the game-winning shot on a floater in the lane with .1 seconds left in the game. The basket capped a 15-4 run to end the game. Virginia Tech had led by as many as 13 points.

Gbinije had tied the game on a pair of free throws with 18.9 seconds left. Gbinije was an unlikeky candidate to hit the clutch free throws. A 48 percent free-throw shooter on the year, Gbinije had made just four out of eight foul shots before his final trip to the line.

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After Gbinije tied the game, Virginia Tech still had the ball with plenty of time remaining. But the Hokies, who had turned the ball over repeatedly against Syracuse's defensive pressure in the final minutes, committed one more costly turnover.

Syracuse's Trevor Cooney went for a steals on a pass to Adam Smith near the midcourt line. Cooney missed the ball, but he caused Smith to miss the pass. The ball went into the backcourt for a violation, giving Syracuse possession with 7.1 seconds left.

The Orange got the ball to Gbinije, who dribbled left before cutting back into the lane for his game-winner. Virginia Tech's Malik Mueller missed a 3-pointer as time ran out that would've won the game for the Hokies.

On Tuesday, it was Syracuse which staged the late comeback, only the Orange was able to finish it off with some big plays in the final minute.

Johnston out, Bibbs in for Hokies

Virginia Tech's Will Johnston underwent minor surgery on his left elbow on Monday and missed Tuesday's game against Syracuse. Johnston had the surgery Monday morning and still traveled with the team to Syracuse later that day.

Johnston, a senior guard, had started nine games this season. He was averaging 3.1 points for the Hokies. He has made 40 percent of his 3-point attempts this season, hitting 16 out of 40 from beyond the arc.

While Virginia Tech played without Johnston, the Hokies did have freshman Justin Bibbs back for the second game. Bibbs had missed four straight games with a concussion. He's averaging 13.4 points per game this season. He had 22 points in Virginia Tech's 68-66 loss to Syracuse on Jan. 3. In his first game back from the concussion, Bibbs had 10 points in the Hokies' loss to Wake Forest on Saturday.