Rosemont, Ill.-Wes Johnson thought Will Walker’s shot looked off, but he knew it could just as easily win the game for DePaul. As he watched Walker hoist the attempt from behind the 3-point line as Syracuse led 59-57 with three seconds left, there was nothing Johnson could do but wait.

‘I was just hoping it didn’t go in because I really wanted to go back home because it was going to be a long plane ride back home,’ Johnson said. ‘It was a good look for him.’

Apparently, it wasn’t good enough. Walker’s shot missed slightly to the left of the basket, and although the Blue Demons got the offensive rebound, they didn’t have enough time to attempt another. The buzzer sounded, and No. 4 Syracuse (21-1, 8-1 Big East) escaped Allstate Arena with a tight 59-57 win over one of the Big East bottom feeders.

Syracuse overcame an 18-point deficit, its largest of the season, and withstood a late DePaul surge to down the Blue Demons in front of a crowd of 11,554 Saturday. Syracuse led for just 3:37 but overcame lethargic play early to avoid what would have been an embarrassing loss.

‘They came out hot, and it’s tough and you have to fight through it,’ shooting guard Andy Rautins said. ‘We chipped away and our defense got better as the game progressed, and we should have been better on the glass. Rick (Jackson) had a couple of blocks down the stretch and a couple big rebounds, and we had a huge dunk by Wes. We made plays when it mattered.’

The game began similarly to Monday night’s contest against Georgetown, with DePaul (8-13, 1-8 Big East) zipping the ball around the perimeter and banging home shots. After finding the weak spot in the zone, the Blue Demons capitalized and hit seven of their first eight attempts from the field.

Syracuse couldn’t find its rhythm offensively, as Rautins missed three 3-point shots. Unlike Monday, where Syracuse sliced away at Georgetown’s lead quickly after trailing 14-0, the Orange trailed 33-15 with 8:50 left in the first half.

A defensive change, though, helped the Orange claw back. After a 9-0 run to make it 33-24, Syracuse utilized a full-court press defense that befuddled DePaul. The Blue Demons offense struggled with the press, and Syracuse chopped the lead to 33-31, ultimately trailing just 35-31 at the half.

‘I think we’re a little slow coming out and it seemed they wanted it a little bit more in the first half, and they were making all the shots and they were beating us to the rebounds,’ sophomore forward Kris Joseph said. ‘It took us a while to click, and after we started pressing and we got onboard a little bit and our momentum got us going. I think that helped us out. Once we started pressing, it helped us out tremendously.’

Still, Syracuse found itself trailing 54-49 in the second half with 5:31 remaining. The upset was looming, and as Walker attempted a 3 with 4:37 left, it seemed as if it went in — this could be the game. Luckily for SU, the ball went in the basket, only to rattle out, and the Orange never looked back.

Scoop Jardine, who supplanted Brandon Triche at the point in the second half, hit a pull-up 3 in transition to cut the lead to two as the pro-Syracuse crowd started getting rowdy. One possession later, Johnson slammed home two of his team-high 16 points to tie the game with 4:10 left. After trailing by 18, Syracuse had tied the game. DePaul was feeling the heat, and Syracuse had captured all the momentum.

Thirty-three seconds later, Jardine gave the Orange its first lead of the game at 56-54 with 3:37 left and DePaul never lead again. The Orange ballooned its lead to 59-54 before watching nervously at the end as Walker’s shot missed by mere inches.

In the locker room after the game, Johnson said he felt his team’s two days of practice leading into the game weren’t as sharp as the previous ones. The result showed on the court, leading to what Jardine said was the toughest game mentally for his team to overcome.

‘We grinded it out. This really showed what we were made of tonight,’ Jardine said. ‘I’m just happy for everybody. It was a team thing – it wasn’t just one individual. Everyone made a part of this one or did something to make this one.’

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim constantly talks about how winning any Big East road game is a challenge, and he echoed the same message after Saturday’s victory. It wasn’t pretty, and probably not as he expected it. Then again, the 34-year head coach wasn’t exactly singing his team’s praises.

‘We stunk and I don’t think there’s any other way to sugarcoat it,’ Boeheim said. ‘We stunk. You have to give DePaul credit. They played well, they knew what they needed to do, but we just were awful. That’s all I can tell you.’

mrehalt@syr.edu

Published on January 31, 2010 at 12:00 pm