ST. LOUIS — With 2:45 remaining in Syracuse’s win against Middle Tennessee State, Dajuan Coleman exited to a standing ovation from the block of Syracuse fans behind the Orange’s bench. His stat line: eight points and five rebounds.

For Michael Gbinije, that would be a travesty. For Trevor Cooney, a disappointment. For Malachi Richardson, possibly underachieving and for Tyler Lydon, nothing too impressive. But after missing the better part of two seasons and only flashing potential in spurts this year, Coleman’s eight points and five rebounds are an added bonus to a Syracuse team that only has five players who consistently leave their mark on the box score.

“It felt real good,” Coleman said after the game of the ovation he received. “I still got to take it all in but it felt real good though.”

Coleman only played 16 minutes against the Blue Raiders, so he had the second-highest points per minute total behind Gbinije. Even if he receives half the minutes Lydon does at center, a stat line like Sunday’s could give Syracuse the sliver of depth it’s lacked for the majority of the season. And against 11th-seeded Gonzaga (28-7, 15-3 West Coast) in the NCAA Tournament on Friday, No. 10 seed SU (21-13, 9-9 Atlantic Coast) could add a dimension on both ends it hasn’t often had at its disposal if Coleman has a similar showing.

“Now you’re talking about six and seven guys, six guys are able to contribute,” assistant coach Adrian Autry said. “Whenever you get contributions from all the guys that come on the court, that’s what we’re shooting for.”

Coleman’s night got off to a brutal start when he allowed an offensive rebound to MTSU’s Reggie Upshaw and proceeded to foul him less than a minute in. Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim yelled at Coleman, motioning to the junior to put his hands a certain way when defending in the post before yanking him with only 54 seconds off the clock.

He logged a meager three minutes in the first half but as is customary, he started the second and grabbed two rebounds in the first two-plus minutes. While Tyler Roberson sat on the bench after he knocked his head on the floor going for a rebound, Coleman had a stretch where he scored six of Syracuse’s 13 points as it eventually built its lead into the 20s.

Nobody expects Coleman to score in double figures or dominate the boards on a nightly basis. Those duties are left to Gbinije and Roberson, respectively. But when Coleman doesn’t lose a chance at an open basket on his standard pump fake, instead shedding a defender and scoring, the bench reacts as if Syracuse is scoring bonus points.

“It’s huge for us,” Gbinije said. “He gives us that inside threat and we like it when he succeeds.”

Published on March 23, 2016 at 10:13 pm

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