WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Tyler Lydon put his hands on his hips then moved them to interlock on the back of his head. A reach-in foul on a driving Mitchell Wilbekin put Lydon, and Syracuse, in as much trouble they could be in with a 23-point lead.

It was Lydon’s fourth foul. That matched with the four fouls on starting center Dajuan Coleman. Forwards Malachi Richardson and Tyler Roberson each had three, which gave the Orange few big-man options with 13 minutes and 59 seconds left to play.

“It’s the first time this year where we’ve had so many guys in foul trouble,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. “We haven’t had that.”

So when that trouble caught up to SU, and when Lydon was forced out of the game, it was Chinonso Obokoh who ran to the scorer’s table to check in. Obokoh had logged just 12 Atlantic Coast Conference minutes to date, but helped secure a game in which the SU big men had a dominant performance shortened due to foul trouble. Lydon and Coleman were limited to 33 effective combined minutes, and Obokoh played 13 of his own in Syracuse’s (12-7, 2-4 ACC) 83-55 blowout win over Wake Forest (10-7, 1-4) on Saturday afternoon.

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MORE COVERAGE 

• Trevor Cooney’s 25 points lead Syracuse in 83-55 romp of Wake Forest
• Jim Boeheim on win over Wake Forest: ‘We had by the far the best defense we’ve played this year’
• What we learned from Syracuse basketball’s 83-55 win against Wake Forest

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Roberson had 16 points and 13 rebounds. Lydon found his stroke to the tune of 11 points and Coleman said he’s beginning to feel like his old self after going 3-for-3 from the field. Boeheim said everyone played well, including Obokoh, who helped ensure their strong performance didn’t go to waste.

“That’s just the way the game goes sometimes,” Lydon said. “Calls weren’t going our way for a little bit there, but we just fought through it. It’s something we’ve got to be better at … just getting out of foul trouble.”

Coleman scored Syracuse’s first two points from a player other than Trevor Cooney with a power dribble under the baseline that preluded a ferocious dunk. Less than four minutes later, he finished on an and-one at the rim. He showed a developing offensive capability, but couldn’t match his 26.5 minutes per game average that he’s posted since Boeheim returned from suspension.

Lydon said he felt better shooting in Saturday’s game than he has in the weeks prior. In the first half he knocked down two 3s on the wing and finished a dunk when he was playing at center. But foul trouble prevented a good night from being a much bigger one.

And when SU’s primary two center options were forced to sit, Obokoh played well defensively. He drew a charge — he said his first blocking foul should have been a charge too — and collected three rebounds, a block and a steal.

“Chino did a good enough job that we didn’t have to go back with Dajuan and Tyler until right at the end there,” Boeheim said. “So that was good experience for Chino. I was glad to see him do what he did. His stat sheet won’t show it, but he was good on defense and I just thought he did a nice job out there.”

On the day, Syracuse out-rebounded Wake Forest 43-35 and outscored the Demon Deacons 32-20 in the paint. The Orange out-fouled WFU 27-19, which led to 17 more free throws for Wake Forest. The Orange usually out-rebounds its opponents and takes more free throws. The numbers on Saturday were counterintuitive to the types of games that Syracuse has played this season.

And most of them were a reflection of the play from their go-to big men, the ones that have been there all year. It forced Syracuse to use someone else to help finish what it started. Obokoh, by the time he was called upon, was the only option.

“I always keep my mind straight,” Obokoh said. “Whenever my name is called, I just go and play the game. I helped my team to win.”

Published on January 16, 2016 at 3:58 pm

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