CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — B.J. Johnson said leading up to Syracuse’s game against Boston College, everything started to click for him in practice. His shots started to fall and his confidence began to rise.

So when SU head coach Jim Boeheim saw the heavy double teams that Rakeem Christmas was drawing, he told Johnson to let it fly when the opportunity presented itself before putting him in the game.

“It just took a lot of pressure somewhat off my shoulders to make shots,” Johnson said. “I just got to keep doing what I’ve been doing and try and do it next game.”

Johnson made four of the 12 3-pointers that he hoisted in Syracuse’s 70-56 win over Boston College on Wednesday night. After subbing in just two minutes into the game, he played all but four minutes for the rest of the night, his most playing time on the floor in a game this season. He was consistently left open on the perimeter and didn’t pass up any open opportunities.

Tyler Roberson, who has gotten more playing time after Chris McCullough tore his ACL and meniscus, was in the game for just 11 minutes, and scored one point. Johnson hopes to build off his momentum and get another shot at becoming a sustained part of the rotation when Syracuse (16-8, 7-4 Atlantic Coast) hosts No. 4 Duke (21-3, 8-3) on Saturday at 6 p.m. in front of what will be a sold out Carrier Dome.

“He’s a very good shooter,” Boeheim said, “and at least if he makes a few, they’ll come out and play him and then he can get the ball inside to Rak.”

Johnson’s 7-for-11 shooting and 19 points in the season opener on Nov. 14 teased to his potential, but the sophomore fell off afterward. After gaining meaningful minutes in SU’s first five games, he has logged more than 10 minutes in a game just twice since Dec. 2 before Wednesday.

He had a combined four field goals in the 10 games leading into the BC game, but tallied that same amount in his 34 minutes on the floor.

Boeheim said his decision to go with Johnson had to do with Roberson’s slow start, along with the head coach’s desire to space the floor. He knew Johnson — a far more capable 3-point shooter than his fellow sophomore forward — would get some makeable open looks with the way the Eagles were face-guarding Christmas.

Johnson missed his first two opportunities from behind the arc Wednesday, but swished one from the corner to cap off an 8-0 Syracuse run that spanned just 72 seconds and pushed SU’s lead to 21-13 with another triple.

“He’s been making them in practice,” guard Trevor Cooney said. “So it was good to see him come out in the game and bury them as well.”

It was far from a great game for Johnson, though. He missed eight of his 3-point shots and nine shots overall. His defense, Boeheim said, is still far from satisfactory. His purpose of making shots to spread the defense and create room for Christmas didn’t go as planned.

But if Christmas and Cooney turn in a similarly inefficient offensive outing against Duke, Johnson may have to yet again carry a greater share of the offensive load.

“That was great for me. Me and B.J., we talk a lot on and off the court,” Michael Gbinije said. “And I’m happy for the success that he had tonight.”

Published on February 13, 2015 at 12:23 am

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