It was a bounce back game for Syracuse’s guards. Bounce back halves for Scoop Jardine and Brandon Triche. Jardine’s half was the first, scoring 10 points after not scoring at all in the season opener. Triche’s was the second, drilling four 3-pointers on seven attempts.

The two guards combined for five points Friday in SU’s win over Northern Iowa. And their paired performances from the first and second halves saved Syracuse from a dreadful offensive first half. Syracuse (2-0) defeated Canisius (1-1) 86-67 in front of 20,454 in the Carrier Dome Sunday. Triche finished the game with 16 points, while Jardine added 13 points and eight assists.

The guards were the reason the Orange came back from the horrid offensive first half, exemplified by one play in the second. After a stretch in the half where Triche was knocking down 3s left and right, Jardine recorded his eighth assist of the game. He found Triche streaking down the sideline for his team-leading 16th point of the game, via a pretty full-speed drive-and-kick at the basket. The field goal gave SU a 56-45 lead with 10:55 remaining, and was as easy of a point as the second half was easy for SU.

But the first half was anything but easy. Jardine was the one offensive bright spot for Syracuse. However, he, like everyone else, hit an offensive dry spell during the middle of the first half.

But with SU down 26-25, and SU starting center Fab Melo just out of the game because of two quick fouls, Baye Moussa Keita cleaned up a Rick Jackson miss with a layup. Seconds later, he deflected an errant Canisius pass from Gaby Belardo. He hit Jardine, who passed to Kris Joseph for a 3-point play to give SU a 30-26 lead – his fourth assist of the half. Next time down, Jardine connected for his 10th point of the game, giving SU its biggest lead of the night.

From there, the Orange had enough wiggle room on a day where the dreadful shooting kept Canisius in the game. SU wouldn’t relinquish the lead or tie the game from there on out.  Syracuse shot just 31 percent in the first half, at its lowest point connecting on 4-of-18 two-point field goals.

And the Golden Griffins were still in the game, down 32-29 at the half. Right before Triche was about to break out, with the aid of the shining Jardine.

The Golden Griffins sat back in a 2-3 zone, mirroring the Orange’s trademark defense, for most of the first half, keeping them in the game. And thanks to SU’s failure to convert offensively, Canisius point guard Gaby Belardo and the other Golden Griffins guards broke into transition opportunities throughout. The pace sent the more athletic Orange into an identical pace, sitting back in the zone, then attacking full-court. Syracuse had 12 fast break points at the half as a result, but those 12 were mere highlights as the Orange hurried many easy shots.

For the second game in a row, the Orange played that cliché tale of two halves. But the stories of the poor first halves from Friday’s 68-46 win over Northern Iowa to Sunday were in stark contrast. Friday, the two freshmen centers in Moussa Keita and Melo put themselves in foul trouble right at the start of the game.

And, of course, Jardine also went 0-7 in the game and didn’t score a single point in the first and second half.

In the second half, SU did SU against the inferior opponent. Brandon Triche hit three 3s in the first 10 minutes. Rick Jackson used his size to dominate on the glass with dunk after dunk, and rebound after rebound.

But for the first time all season, shot after shot and assist after assist from SU’s starting guards was the reason SU ran away with the game. Canisius tried to instill its pace, Triche and Jardine proved to be the ultimate pacers. On that breakaway drive-and-kick, and on seemingly every other second half play as well.

aolivero@syr.edu

Published on November 13, 2010 at 12:00 pm