Jim Boeheim stared with fury, then turned away with disgust.

Rakeem Christmas had just attempted to grab a loose ball and push it up court 2:24 into Syracuse’s 93-65 win against Binghamton on Saturday in the Carrier Dome. But the ball slipped off his left hand and Bearcats forward Magnus Richards scooped it up.

Powder blue tie flapping as he furiously scolded the Syracuse center, Boeheim appeared as angry as he’s been at any point this season. Boeheim vigorously signaled for a timeout and kept yelling at Christmas as he sat down on the bench.

“He didn’t get the ball and he’s got to get that ball,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. “Those are the plays you have to make in tough games. You’ve got to get those.”

That gaffe was the start of a long night for Christmas, who finished with three points, three rebounds and a right thumb contusion in only 10 minutes. He still has not emerged as a consistent threat at either end of the court for the Orange, which continues its search for reliable centers.

Christmas appeared to injure the thumb on a block attempt with 6:30 left in the first half, and sat for the majority of the second half. Still, in those limited minutes, he lost a rebound to a Binghamton guard and turned the ball over on an easy fast-break opportunity.

Christmas’ poor play was but a blip in the high-speed, 93-65 thrashing No. 4 SU (9-0) handed the Bearcats (2-7), but it’s still one of the bigger concerns for the team as it moves closer to conference play.

“I was going for the loose ball and Tyler was there, but I should’ve picked it up and thrown it to Tyler there,” Christmas said of the initial miscue. “You’ve just got to listen to (Boeheim), do what he says and try not to do it again.”

Christmas returned to the game at the 10:38 mark of the first half, but just four minutes later he appeared to jam the thumb on a high-flying collision at the rim.

Trailing Binghamton’s Jordan Reed as he sprinted back down the court, Christmas swung his right hand across Reed’s body, and appeared to slam into Reed’s forearm.

As he stood up to walk away, Christmas sneered at the still grounded Reed on his way to the right block.

Fifty seconds later, Christmas was back on the Syracuse bench with head athletic trainer Brad Pike taping his thumb.

“It’s always hard getting an injury,” C.J. Fair said. “I saw him get a little frustrated when he got the thumb injury.”

Christmas played only the first 3:23 of the second half, but was unable to handle a Cooney pass on the fast break 59 seconds into the stanza and lost out on a rebound to Binghamton guard Marlon Beck a minute and a half later.

As the two chased after Christmas’ initial tip toward the SU bench, Beck leapt and slung the ball off Christmas’ left leg out of bounds.

“Playing through (an injury) is always tough, but he was being aggressive on the boards,” Fair said. “Coach decided not to play him as much so he could take care of that. Hopefully he’ll be back good against St. John’s.”

Standing by his locker after the game, Christmas’s thumb crooked inward toward his hand as he tried to flex it slightly. He winced as he slid the hand into his hoodie pocket and turned to leave the locker room.

Christmas and the Orange have eight days before traveling to Madison Square Garden to take on St. John’s.

“You’ve just got to get back in the gym and try to get better,” Christmas said. “ Just got to put it behind us.”

Published on December 7, 2013 at 11:40 pm

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