Paschal Chukwu wanted the rebound. He tugged at Colgate’s Rapolas Ivanauskas for the ball, eventually hitting the deck five minutes into the game. He spread out on the floor with his goggles crooked, staying still as action was called dead.

Slowly, the senior got to one knee and hobbled to the bench. Brad Pike, SU’s Associate Athletic Director for Sports Medicine followed him, examining his left leg as he sat down. Head coach Jim Boeheim motioned toward the bench to replace him.

Syracuse was going to be without its 7-foot-2 center, the cornerstone of its defense.

Chukwu opened the game defending the 6-foot-10 Ivanauskas, who averages 16.5 points and 10.5 rebounds a game for the Raiders. Boeheim brought in Marek Dolezaj initially after the injury, but it was sophomore Bourama Sidibe who took over, limiting Ivanauskas while playing a serviceable offense role at the center position in Syracuse’s (3-2) 77-56 win over Colgate (4-2). In 23 minutes of relief, Sidibe recorded his first double-double of the season (11 points, 10 rebounds) along with a block and three steals. He kept Colgate’s leading scorer to only five points on 2 of 9 shooting.

“I knew I had to step up because coach was like ‘I gotta get back to who I am before,’” Sidibe said.”I kinda really (thought) about that and kept playing hard.”

Sidibe’s limitations at SU have come from his knees. His slow play held him back his first season, only completely controlling a game once last season, against Pittsburgh on Jan. 16.

The then-freshman posted 18 points and 16 rebounds, but after undergoing surgery on his left knee in April, Sidibe hasn’t been the same.

“He’s not moving as quickly as he did in certain stages when he first got here,” Boeheim said. “He’s kinda stationary more than he was, but he’s still not anywhere near bad. He’s still strong.”

When Chukwu went down early in the first half on Wednesday night, Sidibe stepped in his role. The two had subbed in for each other twice in the first four minutes, but Sidibe knew he was going to play a much larger role when the senior went down, he said.

Colgate’s Jordan Burns looked to feed Ivanauskas in the post every other possession when Sidibe entered the game. As the Northwestern-transfer waved his hands profusely for an overhead pass, Sidibe charged into him, forcing Burns to find other options. When the guard did throw it in, however, Sidibe either forced it out or created one of Ivanauskas’ three turnovers with his long reach and picky hands.

“Offensively, I don’t have much,” Sidibe said. “But defensively I try to make a play for other people.”

When the Raiders saw that Ivanauskas’ positioning against the 6-foot-10 forward was ineffective, they moved away from it. Ivanauskas stayed on the elbow for most of the half, looking to dish to the corners for 3 point opportunities. And it was working.

Colgate held the lead for most of the first half, and Sidibe started playing baseline-to-baseline. On one play, Sidibe stifled Jack Ferguson when he caught the ball in the corner in rhythm. But after he turned away looking to cover Ivanauskas, Ferguson regained possession, draining a three in front of a helpless Sidibe.

Later on, he wasn’t fooled, though. Ivanauskas tried a similar play in the same left corner two minutes later. Sidibe jumped at the opportunity, blocking his shot into his own bench.

It wasn’t just defense early on. Sidibe bullied Ivanauskas after Chukwu went down, making three early field goals on the center. When he started getting the position that Ivanauskas wasn’t gaining, Colgate fouled him. By the end of the first half, Sidibe led the team in scoring with 9 points.

“We need him to obviously to be effective for us,” Boeheim said. “He was very important tonight.”

His big first half kept SU in reach to take the lead, eventually taking a three-point advantage into the break. But in the final 20 minutes, Sidibe stuck to crashing the boards, opting to only take one shot in the process.

His rebounding numbers hit double digits in that span along including four offensive boards, and he held Ivanauskas to only a long-3 early in the second. Sidibe’s positioning also opened up opportunities for the Orange offensive, Oshae Brissett said, getting players easy free throw chances.

Boeheim knows he can’t be as effective as he once was because of his movements restraints, but the sophomore was impressed with his own aggressiveness, he said. With Chukwu’s looming injury in question, Sidibe’s playing time may increase with a need for more paint play. And for Sidibe — attacking, crashing and swatting — that’s all he may need for a bigger role.

“I just got to play my game,” Sidibe said. “It doesn’t matter if Paschal is in or out, that’s why I’m here. To play and fight.”

Published on November 21, 2018 at 11:20 pm

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