UPDATED: Feb. 17, 2018 at 6:08 p.m.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Syracuse point guard Frank Howard leaned back in his chair in front of his locker and grinned over at shooting guard Tyus Battle in the neighboring locker.

“I know he lost the ball two or three times,” Howard said, raising his voice to answer a reporter’s question about Battle’s struggles (4-for-14 shooting, three turnovers). Then, Howard looked at Battle and, almost laughing, told him, “I don’t know what you was doing.”

Battle grinned back. Bags of ice wrapped around the knees of his team-issued blue sweatsuit. Battle threw his arms out. “Whatever, man,” he said.

They could joke about Battle’s off night because Battle ultimately hit the game-sealing shot and Syracuse (18-9, 7-7 Atlantic Coast) escaped with a 62-55 win over Miami (18-8, 7-7) on Saturday afternoon in the Watsco Center. It was a game Syracuse desperately needed after losing to North Carolina State at home on Wednesday.

Everything seemed smaller during the game, though. Before tip, UM had a moment of silence for those affected by the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where three days earlier a gunman killed 17 people and wounded more than a dozen. Syracuse joined Miami in wearing gray warm-up T-shirts that, in red, read: “Praying for Stoneman Douglas.” Then, at noon, the game tipped. The teams once again wore two different shirts.

After a sluggish shooting start for both teams, Syracuse used its cushion built up during a 15-0 run early in the second half to stave off a late Miami comeback attempt. Freshmen forwards Oshae Brissett (16 points, 12 rebounds) and Marek Dolezaj (11 points) combined with Howard (18 points, six assists, one turnover) to help the Orange snag a second crucial road victory to pair with Louisville for its NCAA Tournament resume.

“When Tyus doesn’t shoot it well, usually we struggle to win, usually we can’t win,” said Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim. “But today, Oshae, Marek and Frank had really good games and were able to pick it up.”

After Miami hit the first shot of the second half — a 3-pointer from Hurricanes 6-foot-5 wing Lonnie Walker IV, who Syracuse specifically schemed to keep him on the perimeter and out of the lane because of his athleticism — Syracuse went on a 15-0 run.

It started with a jumper from Howard, then a pick-and-pop from Howard to Dolezaj that was as crisp as anything the Orange offense has done this season. Dolezaj’s struggles early in ACC play happened because teams got physical with him, Boeheim said, but now the success of Syracuse’s guards has forced defenders to help, which has shifted attention off Dolezaj. To cap the run, Howard hit a 3, another jumper and assisted Dolezaj again, that time finding him in the short corner.

“It’s kind of like guys in the (NBA),” Howard said. “You can trade guys and guys still have that chemistry because they have IQ and a feel for the game. … (Dolezaj) changed the game for us today. I trust him. Everyone else trusts him.”

But Miami pushed back hard after the run. A 12-point lead became nine, then six as the Hurricanes’ three 3s in four possessions roused the ghosts of Wake Forest, a team which hit six-consecutive 3s against Syracuse in the Carrier Dome last week.

The Orange’s 2-3 zone is designed to force teams into bad 3-point shots, and it had worked until that point. Everyone knew the scouting report: Miami’s freshman point guard and its leading scorer on Saturday, Chris Lykes, who the team lists at 5-foot-7 but is almost certainly a few inches shorter, was blazing fast and liked to drive and kick.

Therefore, Battle said, guards pushed out slightly on defense and funneled Lykes to the Orange’s 7-foot-2 rim protector, Paschal Chukwu. Syracuse felt comfortable with that one-on-one. But, unlike the first half, Miami hit those tightly contested outside shots and, as they did, it opened room for pump-fakes and secondary drives. The Hurricanes tied the game with nine minutes to go and clawed to keep themselves within one possession down the stretch.

Several times, Battle tried to respond but, other than one jumper he hit during Syracuse’s big run, he missed both shots and turned it over twice. After the second turnover, as Syracuse set up on defense, Dolezaj and Howard both quickly patted Battle on the back.

“They said, ‘Keep on attacking,’” Battle said. “They have that trust in me.”

Boeheim did, too.

About a minute after the turnover, with 86 seconds to go in a game that Syracuse seemed to have lost its grip on, Boeheim told his team to get the ball into Battle’s hands. They did. Battle held the ball as the shot clock dripped away. Syracuse held a three-point lead. With the shot-clock almost gone, Battle dribbled twice, pulled up and drilled the 3-pointer over the outstretched arm of Walker.

“I missed a lot of shots the entire game,” Battle said, “but I had to get that one.”

In the chair to Battle’s left, Howard chuckled when asked if he thought Battle was getting that look. He didn’t care about anything that happened for the entire game, Battle was getting it no question. A Battle isolation play when Syracuse needs a bucket has been the plan all season. Everyone knew it on the Syracuse bench. Probably Miami knew, too. That made it better, Howard said, grinning again.

“That was game,” he said.

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, the number of students killed in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was misstated. The gunman killed 17 people. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on February 17, 2018 at 2:17 pm

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