DURHAM, N.C. — Jim Boeheim had coached 1,260 games before Saturday and never had there been a call that infuriated him so much as the one that Tony Greene made in the final seconds at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

It was another close Syracuse-Duke game, but C.J. Fair appeared to have tied it up on a baseline drive with 10 seconds remaining. The forward collided with Rodney Hood as the lefty banked in an impressive right-handed layup to tie the game.

Offensive foul.

“Bullsh*t!” Boeheim yelled as he rushed out to midcourt. “That’s bullsh*t!”

Greene didn’t hesitate. He threw the head coach out for the first time in his Hall of Fame career. That call — and Boeheim’s colorful reaction — sealed the No. 1 Orange’s fate. Quinn Cook sunk 3-of-4 free throws for the double technical and the No. 5 Blue Devils (22-6, 11-4 Atlantic Coast) pulled out a 66-60 win in SU’s (25-2, 12-2) first trip to Durham, N.C., as a member of the ACC.

“I just thought that was the worst call of the year. That’s all,” Boeheim said after the game. “I just hate to see a game decided on that call.”

It was a classic just like the first time these two played in the Carrier Dome, only it finished differently than most classics do.

Syracuse had the opportunity to force overtime on Duke’s home floor just as the Blue Devils did earlier in the month in the Carrier Dome. With a six-point lead in the final minutes, Duke had its chances to put away the game. But SU fought back, and a 1-for-2 trip by Rasheed Sulaimon at the free-throw line left Syracuse down by two with 24 seconds remaining.

The Orange found Fair isolated on the left wing against Tyler Thornton with 13 seconds remaining. He burned the guard with a quick dribble along the baseline and tossed up a circus shot through some contact with Hood to tie the game.

“When I went for the drive, from my perspective, my angle, I felt as though he wasn’t set away from me,” Fair said. “I thought he kind of met me there.”

He stumbled along the rest of the baseline in time to see Greene signal something with his hands. Fair thought he was saying and-one. Instead, it was a charge that kept SU two points behind. And Boeheim’s technical fouls put the game out of reach.

“That was the play,” Boeheim said. “That was the game-decider right there.”

Just like the game in the Dome three weeks ago, the officials played a critical role. In that game, Jabari Parker and Amile Jefferson fouled out before overtime. That game also saw Hood on the other end of a questionable foul, when Rakeem Christmas was credited with a block of Hood in overtime.

On Saturday, it was Syracuse that spent the game in foul trouble. The Orange’s two centers, Baye Moussa Keita and Christmas, both had four personal fouls by the midway point of the second half.

After Keita picked up his fourth with 12:50 remaining, the Blue Devils converted seven of their next nine field goals to build a six-point lead.

But with each punch that Duke delivered, SU countered.

Parker slammed home a ferocious put-back dunk, then Tyler Ennis got to the rim for a layup and Jerami Grant dropped in a floater. Hood sunk an elbow jumper then Syracuse sunk three straight free throws.

“It was a tremendous basketball game, just like the one at Syracuse was,” Boeheim said. “This was just a different game, but it was a great game.”

As Duke watched its lead slip away, it appeared that Syracuse was headed to another miracle.

But the iconic moment in this comeback effort wasn’t an improbable basket, but a controversial whistle and an angry head coach.

“I definitely thought it was a block,” Grant said. “That’s the new rule. If he’s coming toward you or if he’s already got his gathering step going then it’s a block.”

Boeheim compared it to a similar play earlier in the half when Michael Gbinije tried to draw a charge against Parker, but was whistled for a block.

That one went against the Orange, and so did the play at the end. SU and Duke could meet again before season’s end, but Saturday’s finish leaves the feeling that there could have been more.

“I would’ve been happy with a no-call,” Boeheim said. “Let the players finish the game and see what happens. It was a great game, a tremendously well-officiated game.

“I just disagree with that last call.”

Published on February 22, 2014 at 9:22 pm

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