Finding
success is sometimes about finding a level of comfort. C.J. Fair, who finished
the game with 21 points made the last six doing what he does best, shooting
lefty jumpers from the right side, and helped lift Syracuse to a 68-63 win over
St. John's at Madison Square Garden yesterday.
For the
first time since 1979 this was sadly not a Big East Conference game. But the
sights and sounds of the game were familiar parts of the great rivalry; lots of
orange and red in the crowd, the mixture of both cheers and boos whenever
someone made a great play, and the attempts by one portion or the other of the
crowd to rise up whenever their teams went on a good streak.
As coach
Steve Lavin pointed out yesterday's game had three such streaks.
"Syracuse played well for 24 minutes and we played well
for 16", Lavin said.
Ultimately Syracuse won the game because their 24 minutes
included the game's last four.
The Orange
built a 39-27 halftime advantage with the first of those streaks behind Fair
and point guard Tyler Ennis, the Brampton Ontario native who prepped at St.
Benedict's (NJ). He tied Fair and St. John's D'angelo Harrison for game high
scoring honors with 21 points and, thanks to his speed, quickness and ability
to get angles got to the rim and made things easy for his teammates when he
wasn't scoring himself.
Syracuse's
advantage would have been even greater were it not for JaKarr Sampson, who
scored the Johnnies first six points and was the first player for them to find
scoring success in the area he likes best; in the key, ironically right in the
middle of the long and active 'cuse defense. Harrison joined him as the second half began with a short jumper a tip
in basket and the Johnnies only three pointer of the day in 15 tries.
The
Johnnies would also rally from potential trouble when Sampson was forced out of
the game thanks to his 4th personal with 12:15 left. But along with Harrison,
St. John's own heralded freshman Rysheed Jordan attacked the zone for scoring opportunities.
He finished with an early career high of 13 points but may have made his most
significant contribution on defense. As
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim pointed out the Johnnies did a much better job
keeping Ennis out of the paint and relatively quiet until the game's closing
moments. His assist to Orlando Sanchez
with 5:48 left gave St. John's a brief 60-58 lead. But Ennis would save his
best work for the last of the game's streaks and it would ultimately proved
decisive. He assisted on Fair's last two
baskets and made free throws that provided the game's winning margin. Jordan
faltered just a bit perhaps because of stamina and Ennis who "doesn't play
like a freshman" according to Boeheim took advantage of a small opening.
That combined with St. John's poor execution and free throw shooting helped the
cuse earn a great win. But the game may well have taught the Johnnies valuable
lessons as they enter Big East play. They had several good moments but must get
better at the start and at the finish in order to win in a league that will be
difficult despite Syracuse's absence
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