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When Alan Griffin pulled up from beyond the arc in transition — turning his two previous makes into a third and extending Syracuse’s scoring spurt — he flicked his wrist and started to lean back. Clemson’s closeout reached him, and Griffin bent back more as his shot reached its highest point and descended toward the basket.

Just three minutes had passed in the second half, but the Orange’s lead had already increased by eight. Griffin’s first make of the half started the run and came in front of SU’s bench, his second came after a Clemson miss, and his third — to put them up 14 — came from the opposite wing. He pointed a finger at Joe Girard III and smiled, with John Bol Ajak rising from the bench and waving a Gatorade towel and Jim Boeheim pumping his fist across his body.

If runs could save seasons, or provide hope that one had already been saved, then Syracuse’s 17-5 spurt to open the second half against Clemson on Wednesday did just that. It took the bad losses, like the two to Pittsburgh, and the resume-boosting wins, like Virginia Tech and NC State, and mashed them together to create a scenario where the Orange could leave Greensboro, North Carolina next week without an Atlantic Coast Conference Championship and still possibly make the postseason.

Griffin’s 22 points and Buddy Boeheim’s 17 keyed Syracuse’s 64-54 win over Clemson, reversing its loss to the Tigers earlier in the season. That time, on Feb. 6, it was the Orange (15-8, 9-7 ACC) who struggled offensively for the entire game, who made just three field goals in the opening half, who trailed by 20 at halftime and never cut the game to single-digits from there. It was Clemson who controlled the boards, hit the 3s and pulled away early. But on Wednesday, SU forced the Tigers (15-6, 9-6) into 33.9% shooting, and the Orange pulled away behind that five-minute stretch to open the frame.

“We woke up in the second half,” Griffin said. “We started a little shaky, and we started to get things rolling in the second.”

It took all the pieces that Syracuse needed to win a game, ones that flashed at various points throughout the year and disappeared at others, and combined them into a 40-minute stretch. But most of the game, including all of the game-deciding run, happened without Kadary Richmond — the freshman guard and active defender who ranks near the top of the country in steals and often replaced an ineffective Girard. Richmond recorded 10 assists against North Carolina in Monday’s win and added even more significance to Wednesday’s. But from the under-8 timeout in the first half until the under-16 timeout in the second, he gingerly peddled on an exercise bike behind the bench while pausing during Syracuse possessions and clapping on those that ended in a basket.

Boeheim said he didn’t know if Richmond could play before the game, but he tested it out in warmups and proceeded to play him seven of the first 13 minutes. The Orange opened with nine consecutive 3-point attempts, reverting to an early-season approach that they abandoned after shooting percentages sunk lower and lower. Quincy Guerrier attempted and missed three in the first five minutes and headed to the bench, as Robert Braswell came in and hit one to give SU an early lead. Syracuse and Clemson began a combined 2-for-15, preventing either team from building an early lead.

“Neither team could make anything, basically,” Boeheim said. “They missed everything, and we missed everything.”

But SU’s defense, one of its constant weaknesses throughout the season, kept the Orange close until their interior offense started working. After Richmond hit two free throws, Al-Amir Dawes launched a 3-pointer from the top of the key as the shot clock wound down, with Griffin and Braswell tightening the lanes on the wings to prevent Aamir Simms from patrolling the paint.

Syracuse allowed its fewest points in the first half since allowing 18 to Pittsburgh on Jan. 6 and 22 in last year’s ACC tournament against UNC. That game against the Tar Heels, and those 40 minutes filled with uncertainty due to COVID-19, started a path that took the Orange down an unusual season. That’s why they had 26 games scheduled but played only 23, why they missed dozens of practices early in the season because of pauses, why it lost its leading scorer for three games, why game days turned into off-weeks.

Joe Girard III received more playing time against Clemson due to Kadary Richmond’s injury. Courtesy of Rich Barnes | USA Today Sports

Players struggled to find their rhythms, and losses — both in games and with personnel from last season — placed another Syracuse season on the bubble. One of those losses was Girard, who struggled with turnovers in the first handful of games before contracting COVID-19. Richmond started to eat into his minutes, but his leg injury gave Girard an increased role down the stretch against UNC on Monday and against Clemson on Wednesday.

The last time the Orange played Clemson, Girard was their lone source of offense. He found success driving downhill against the Tiger guards in the second half, but in the Carrier Dome, he once again became a facilitator who helped open up opportunities for Syracuse’s other shooters. 

On one possession, three offensive rebounds allowed two missed 3-pointers to turn into a make. Girard missed the first, but Griffin sent it back to Buddy for another open look. And after Syracuse’s leading scorer missed, Marek Dolezaj snagged the ball and sent it to the other wing — where Girard stood again. He connected this time.

“That’s what we want to do in those situations,” Boeheim said.

They limited Simms, Clemson’s only scorer averaging double-digits, to six points, and that allowed the Orange’s run to open the second half — filled with the Griffin 3s and 2-pointers from Girard and Guerrier — to put the game out of reach. Clemson head coach Brad Brownell still yelled at his defense to “guard your own man.” He still stood on the sideline begging them to move the ball more and urging them to not launch those 3s, those desperation shots that often clanked off.

Clemson connected sometimes, like Alex Hemenway did in the corner with 16 minutes left and Chase Hunter did one minute later to cut the lead to 12. But as they started to connect, within 10 at the four-minute mark, Griffin dribbled along the wing before taking his Clemson defender down to the corner with the shot clock under 10. 

He had hit another 3 since sparking the run while setting up a Buddy layup in transition, and he elevated once more. Boeheim said Syracuse had drawn up one or two plays for him, trying to stretch his hot hand and reap every point possible from it — something the Orange have tried to do a better job of throughout the season.

Griffin’s shot hit the right side of the rim, bounced off the backboard and the left side of the rim, and finally rattled its way through the net. He laughed to himself while jogging back down the court and shook his head. Boeheim said postgame that he was surprised that shot, out of all the others Griffin took, went in.

“He was there,” Boeheim said. “He was in the zone.”

For the Orange, it was the exact lift they needed. A lift from Griffin, who’s had an up-and-down season in his first year with the program. A lift, and a run, to keep winning the games they needed to win, to claw their way into a position — any position — that’ll result in a Tournament berth.

Published on March 3, 2021 at 7:16 pm

Contact Andrew: [email protected] | @CraneAndrew