NEW YORK — Tyler Roberson walked diagonally across the court, from under the St. John’s basket all the way to the Syracuse bench. His hands were on his head, and his team was out of gas.

The Orange had sliced a 13-point deficit down to seven off three straight steals on the press. St. John’s’ mistake-prone reputation was living up to its billing.

On the next possession, Syracuse forced Durand Johnson to jack up a contested 3 as the shot clock expired. But Michael Gbinije would miss a 3, and Tyler Lydon would miss a put-back jumper. When Syracuse stole it again, Roberson missed a layup. Syracuse got the ball back seconds later off a missed free throw and blew two more opportunities.

It was a one minute, 36-second whirlwind of missed shots. Five to be exact. And the Orange’s best chance to make up for its worst shooting of the season was futile.

“The difference in the game was shooting,” Syracuse interim head coach Mike Hopkins said before being asked a question. “We got some really good looks and we couldn’t knock them down.”

The Orange shot 5-of-26 from 3, including 1-of-12 in the second half. Malachi Richardson and Trevor Cooney combined for 18 of those misses, and just one total make. Syracuse has been able to mask its other deficiencies this season by hitting 3-pointers. On Sunday, when it became its own problem, the Orange (7-3) lost 84-72 to the Red Storm (7-3) at Madison Square Garden, and never found the necessary shooting stroke.

The St. John’s lead hovered around seven most of the second half, and when the Orange went to its press, controlled tempo, and found good shots for the first time all day, there was little to show for it.

“I don’t think we had a rhythm going into this game,” guard Franklin Howard said. “From start to end, I don’t think we had a rhythm and a flow to the offense. I think sometimes, we might have forced shots.”

St. John’s head coach Chris Mullin said it was important for the Orange to stay out of transition. In the half-court sets, Syracuse would look for 3-point shots.

With SU down by 12 and 4:19 to play, Trevor Cooney was wide open behind the arc on the left wing. His shot fell way short, hitting the front rim. Christian Jones got the rebound and Cooney spilled to the court as Jones got fouled at the other basket, racing in transition.

For all the misses Syracuse had, St. John’s connected. The Red Storm shot 12-of-24 from 3, contrasting SU’s struggles in the half-court offense with its own success.

“We would miss an opportunity and they would hit a 3,” Richardson said. “We’d come up short on one end, not get a rebound and they would hit a 3. We’d get a stop, but miss a layup or a wide-open jump shot and they would get a 3. That really decided the game for us.”

By the time Frank Howard missed a 3 with six seconds left, the game was over. It was over when Cooney missed one 22 seconds before that, and it was all but over when Richardson couldn’t connect 29 seconds before that.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Ron Mvouika ran along the sideline, high-fiving any fan that would stick their hand out. Federico Mussini, who had 17 points, would later say it was the best win of his life. The St. John’s fans in the arena, who had made their presence known far more than those in orange, chanted “New York’s team.”

For the second time in two seasons, St. John’s had upset Syracuse. And the reason why was clear-cut.

“You don’t want to live and die by it,” Cooney said of 3-point shooting. “Sometimes, it’s a good thing, and you make a lot of 3s. But today wasn’t one of our days.”

Published on December 13, 2015 at 2:13 pm

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