Syracuse, N.Y. ? The Shockers were shocking again, though they almost got shocked themselves.

Kyle Wilson scored 17 points, Sean Ogirri added 16, and No. 17 Wichita State survived a big Syracuse rally, holding off the 15th-ranked Orange 64-61 Saturday night for its third big win in four games.

After putting together an amazing 27-1 run in the first half and leading by 19 midway through the second, Wichita State (6-0) was fortunate to survive in the end.

Syracuse (7-1) held the Shockers to just one field goal in the final 9:24 and went on a 21-2 run to tie it at 61 with 1:48 left before a stunning miss by Demetris Nichols on a breakaway layup foiled the comeback.

“I told our kids that we won despite coaching,” Wichita State coach Mark Turgeon said. “I thought I did a bad job toward the end, and they did whatever they had to do.”

Nichols seemingly had the game in his hands after stealing a cross-court pass by Matt Braeuer and heading all alone down court. But instead of adding another dunk to an array of slams by his teammates that had the Carrier Dome crowd of 23,857 rocking, the 6-foot -8 Nichols chose to try to lay the ball in the cylinder with 21 seconds left. It rolled around the rim and out.

SYRACUSE'S DARRYL WATKINS battles Wichita State's P.J. Couisnard, left, for a rebound. The No. 15 Shockers remained unbeaten with a 64-61 victory Saturday at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.

“It’s on me. I’m a senior captain,” said Nichols, who had just six points on 2-of-14 shooting after scoring 20 points or more in each of the previous three games. “I’ve just got to get over it and just be ready for the next game. It was a play that could have changed the game.”

The Orange still trailed 62-61 at that point, but two free throws by Wilson made it a three-point game, and Ryan Martin blocked a three-pointer by Eric Devendorf in the final second.

“They picked up the intensity, and we had to weather the storm,” Wilson said. “We started getting a little soft offensively, just not attacking them the same as we were in the first half.”

Ah, that first half.

The teams played to a standstill in the first five minutes before the Shockers went on their stunning run. After Josh Wright’s fastbreak layup at 16:48, Syracuse did not score another basket until Nichols drained a 3 from the right wing at 5:34.