Syracuse was on the ropes. With the Orange clinging to a five-point lead, Providence threatened to pull even closer after a technical foul call on SU senior Rick Jackson.

What was a 10-point halftime lead was already cut in half, and the Friars had two free throws and possession to pull even closer. SU needed someone to step up to stop the bleeding.

And Scoop Jardine did just that.

Providence couldn’t capitalize on the technical, making just one of the free throws and sending a pass out of bounds on the extra opportunity. Shortly after, SU’s junior point guard scored on a fastbreak layup and then knocked down a transition 3 to put the Syracuse lead back at nine.

Those buckets sparked a 14-2 run that ultimately gave the Orange (14-0, 1-0 Big East) just enough separation to hold off Providence (11-3, 0-1) in front of 20,388 fans at the Carrier Dome Tuesday. Junior forward Kris Joseph carried the No. 5 Orange in the first half with 17 of his career-high 27 points before halftime. But it was Jardine who led SU after the break, tallying 17 of his 21 in the second half, including nine of them during the decisive run.

‘It was an opportunity that I took,’ Jardine said. ‘Everything opened up for me. First half, I was passing the ball, getting guys involved. And it opened up to me (in the second) and I just took what they gave me.’

Though it was nearly 29 minutes into the action before things opened up for Jardine, it took only 23 second for Joseph to catch fire. After the Orange won the opening tip, Jackson found Joseph in the corner for a wide-open 3.

After that, Joseph didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger from deep, especially as Providence continued to leave him open. Twelve of his 17 first-half points came from beyond the arc. Even when the Friars finally did get a hand in his face late in the first, the junior was able to knock down a long jumper.

‘I’m definitely feeling more comfortable shooting the ball,’ Joseph said. ‘And I think that teams, sooner or later, are going to stop backing off of me. I’m not Andy Rautins, but I’m probably pretty respectable at this point in time.’

Joseph’s performance helped Syracuse build a 42-32 halftime lead, but Providence clawed its way back before the technical on Jackson. As the senior forward pulled in a rebound and drew a foul from Friars forward Kadeem Batts, his elbow inadvertently connected with Vincent Council’s head.

The referees assessed a technical to Jackson, but Providence couldn’t take advantage. Instead, the Orange began what turned out to be the game’s crucial run.

After Joseph found Jardine for both the layup and the transition 3 that sparked the 14-2 stretch, sophomore guard Brandon Triche scored on a post move inside.

Then it was all Jardine.

The point guard scored at the rim on a fastbreak after a pass fake to Joseph to put the Orange up 60-47. After the Friars finally scored on a Duke Mondy layup, Jardine got to the line and knocked down two free throws. One possession later, he kicked the ball out to Triche in the corner for an open 3 to cap off the run.

‘I thought the game was in (Providence’s) momentum,’ Triche said. ‘… Just to go on that stretch, I’m sure it made them a little nervous, and I think they took the pedal off us a little bit more.’

The Friars were able to cut the lead back down to four with 56 seconds left, but SU knocked down 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch to maintain the lead and pull out the victory.

Jackson said that after his technical foul, Syracuse did need someone to step up and take over for SU. In Jackson’s mind, it could have been anyone of the Orange’s scorers. Tuesday night, it just happened to be Jardine.

‘This is the type of team that any given night, a guy can just take over and have a great game. We have so many great guys that some nights it’s hard to call who’s going to do what. But you always know someone’s going to do something.’

zjbrown@syr.edu

Published on December 27, 2010 at 12:00 pm