Spring Break
The Daily OrangeMBB | JUST ENOUGH: Syracuse limps to five-point win at lowly USF
By Jared Diamond
Posted: 1/3/09, 12:47 AM EST Section: Sports
TAMPA, Fla. - Kristof Ongenaet's face said it all. He didn't even need to wait for the entire question. The moment a reporter mentioned the word, "finishing," Ongenaet scrunched his face into a disappointed grimace, put his hands to his forehead and stared despondently to the back wall of the locker room.
No way should Friday night's game have been so close. The 59-54 final tally in favor of No. 13 Syracuse (14-1, 2-0 Big East) doesn't tell the entire story. It doesn't show that the Orange let South Florida (5-8, 0-1) cut a 16-point halftime lead to three with 90 seconds left. Nor does it show how Syracuse's offensive deficiencies in the second half almost led to a total meltdown here at the Sun Dome.
"The game would have been over after the first half if me, and maybe some other guys - especially me - finishes around the basket," Ongenaet said.
That was just one aspect of the Orange's 20-minute offensive nightmare, immediately after playing what SU head coach Jim Boeheim called the best half of the season.
After shooting 50 percent in the first half and appearing to have the game easily in hand, Syracuse shot just 9-of-25 (36 percent) the rest of the way. Couple that with another dismal night from the free-throw line (7-of-18, 38.9 percent), and that breezy conference blowout was suddenly a nailbiter. After the game, Boeheim criticized his team for missing opportunities to score easy baskets throughout the night.
"We were just trying to hang on at the end, and we were very fortunate to be able to hang on at the end of the game," Boeheim said. "The first half just got away from us. We should have taken control of the game, and we didn't."
It didn't help that Syracuse played Friday essentially without two of its two best players. Forward Paul Harris, who split open his ring finger Tuesday against Seton Hall, sat out the entire game. Shooting guard Eric Devendorf suffered a hip pointer in the opening seconds of the game and said he was in "excruciating pain" the entire night. He played 24 minutes and scored eight points.
No way should Friday night's game have been so close. The 59-54 final tally in favor of No. 13 Syracuse (14-1, 2-0 Big East) doesn't tell the entire story. It doesn't show that the Orange let South Florida (5-8, 0-1) cut a 16-point halftime lead to three with 90 seconds left. Nor does it show how Syracuse's offensive deficiencies in the second half almost led to a total meltdown here at the Sun Dome.
"The game would have been over after the first half if me, and maybe some other guys - especially me - finishes around the basket," Ongenaet said.
That was just one aspect of the Orange's 20-minute offensive nightmare, immediately after playing what SU head coach Jim Boeheim called the best half of the season.
After shooting 50 percent in the first half and appearing to have the game easily in hand, Syracuse shot just 9-of-25 (36 percent) the rest of the way. Couple that with another dismal night from the free-throw line (7-of-18, 38.9 percent), and that breezy conference blowout was suddenly a nailbiter. After the game, Boeheim criticized his team for missing opportunities to score easy baskets throughout the night.
"We were just trying to hang on at the end, and we were very fortunate to be able to hang on at the end of the game," Boeheim said. "The first half just got away from us. We should have taken control of the game, and we didn't."
It didn't help that Syracuse played Friday essentially without two of its two best players. Forward Paul Harris, who split open his ring finger Tuesday against Seton Hall, sat out the entire game. Shooting guard Eric Devendorf suffered a hip pointer in the opening seconds of the game and said he was in "excruciating pain" the entire night. He played 24 minutes and scored eight points.
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