For 45 seconds Wednesday night, the Carrier Dome fell into an anxious hush. Head coach Jim Boeheim and several other Syracuse players perched. Their heads, and many of the 16,247 fans in attendance, focused on the right wing with 15:44 in the second half of a 72-64 win.

There was sophomore guard Tyus Battle, SU’s leading scorer who entered the game with three consecutive 20-plus point games. He reached for his back, grimacing in pain as he had fallen hard to the ground after a block attempt. He needed roughly one minute to get up and walk to the SU sideline on his own. While Battle returned to the game, he reached again for his back after he missed a jumper. He exited and did not return over the last 11:26.

It didn’t matter. Syracuse, which entered the break up by only one point, was now up seven when Battle fell. The offense wasn’t clicking, but shots were starting to fall. The 2-3 zone wasn’t as effective as it was Monday in a 24-point dismantling over Oakland, but it did just enough over the last 10 minutes of the game.

“We just had to stay in it,” freshman forward Oshae Brissett said. “We had to get stops, then hit shots.”

Syracuse (5-0) did that, bundling enough baskets over Toledo (3-1) in the second half to win, 72-64. Kenpom gave Syracuse an 85 percent chance to beat Toledo, though it was not so easy for the Orange. Syracuse needed a resurgence in the second half to pull away from the Rockets, a team Boeheim said could make the NCAA Tournament.

Along with Battle, Syracuse was without junior center Paschal Chukwu for much of the second half, as he picked up his fourth foul with 12:25 on the clock. That the Orange held on long enough despite a lethargic first half and without two starters — including its leading playmaker in Battle — underscores the output picked up by others. (Boeheim said he has “No idea” of Battle’s status.)

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In the fifth of six straight home games to start the season, junior guard Frank Howard set his personal high in points, for the second straight game. Monday night, he scored 18, then a career high. Wednesday, he scored 25, rising fluidly to hit several jump shots. He attacked the basket and shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.

“Tyus wasn’t having a good night,” Boeheim said. “When he did go out, Frank was pushed into the role, ‘I got to do this.’”

So was freshman Brissett, who added 17, combining to stretch the floor (2-for-4 from deep) and help compensate for Chukwu’s interior absence. He fought for position down low, chipping in 14 rebounds and a handful of layups. Redshirt freshman forward Matthew Moyer added 11 points and a block.

Two nights ago, Syracuse cruised by Oakland, 74-50, recording the fourth-most blocks in program history (15). Its zone defense showed development in its effectiveness, Howard said after that game. But it did not carry into Wednesday’s game against the Rockets, which finished last season 17-17 overall and a measly 9-9 in the Mid-American Conference. Toledo’s outside shooters found space. They connected for 12 3s on 25 attempts.

To cap off the first half, Rockets junior guard and leading scorer Jaelan Sanford (23.3 points per game) drilled a 3-pointer directly in front of the Syracuse bench. After a Howard heave from midcourt, the Orange walked toward the tunnel with only a one-point lead, its closest game at the half this season. Chukwu let out a sigh as he strolled to the tunnel.

“They hit us with a big punch at the end of the first half,” Boeheim said. “A lot of momentum.”

About one-third of the Rockets’ points came via the 3, including a 7-of-12 mark in the first half. Syracuse’s previous closest game this year came last Tuesday against Iona, which plays a similar style to Toledo. Both play through the high post, then dish to shooters on the wings or dump off to bigs down low. Toledo stayed within striking distance because it found gaps in the interior of the SU 2-3 zone. The Rockets balanced inside and outside scoring, with eight points inside the arc in the first half to go along with 21 points via the trifecta.

“In the first half, they made too many uncontested shots,” said freshman forward Bourama Sidibe, who had four points and seven rebounds. “In the second half, everybody came together and decided to play defense.”

Toledo then cooled off from outside. Howard and Brissett found the rim. Syracuse’s defense improved . The Orange had a 49-31 rebound edge in the game, most of which came in the final straw of a three game in five-day stretch for SU, without Battle and Chukwu.

“With Tyus going out, to win that game, that was pretty good,” Boeheim said. “That’s a really good win.”

Published on November 22, 2017 at 9:07 pm

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