PHILADELPHIA — The three-pointers, jump shots and even lay-ups have disappeared in a cloud of losses.

None of Syracuse’s (20-9, 9-6 Big East) Big Three could find the basket last night at Villanova (15-11, 6-9), and head coach Jim Boeheim couldn’t find any answers as the Orangemen fell, 67-61, in front of 13,207 at the First Union Center.

On what has become a typical night for Syracuse, the Orangemen shot 32 percent from the field. Preston Shumpert, who entered the game having shot 24 percent over his last three games, made only 6 of 22 field goals.

‘I had the good looks,’ Shumpert said. ‘They just weren’t going. I am just struggling. I don’t know what is happening. I have to wait on my perimeter game. The eye injury isn’t really an excuse. I took some shots off balance and took some bad shots here and there.’

He wasn’t alone. Guard DeShaun Williams made 5 of 19. Forward Kueth Duany, playing without a face guard to protect his broken nose, shot a respectable 4 of 9, but SU’s threesome combined to turn the ball over 11 times.

The poor shooting of the Big Three lays a greater burden to score on guard James Thues. The sophomore guard scored a career-high 17 points against Georgetown on Sunday but missed all eight of his shots last night and had equally few answers after the game.

‘It just seemed like my shots weren’t falling,’ Thues said. ‘That’s about it.’

Boeheim couldn’t finger the problem either.

‘(Williams is) struggling, but we don’t have any other options,’ Boeheim said. ‘James had one good shooting game, but he’s not going to make that jump shot consistently. Tonight he tried to look for it, but that’s not what got us to where we are.’

With Syracuse down 62-55, Williams missed two shots in one Syracuse possession. Then, following a Derrick Snowden lay-up, Williams traveled, giving the ball back to Villanova and ending what was a furious second-half comeback for the Orangemen.

SU never led, and stared at a 12-point halftime deficit. But in the second half, the Orangemen tied the game on two occasions only to miss a shot or commit a turnover.

A Shumpert lay-up tied the game at 53, and after Villanova’s Brooks Sales threw away a pass, the Orangemen had a chance to take their first lead with Josh Pace headed to the free-throw line. But Pace missed both free throws, and the Wildcats regained the lead with an Andrew Sullivan lay-up.

Syracuse again evened the score at 55 when Williams stripped Snowden and went the distance for a lay-up, but Snowden retaliated with a three-pointer that keyed a 7-0 Wildcat run from which SU never recovered.

‘We fought our way back in it, but the bottom line is we’ve got to find a way to make some shots someplace,’ Boeheim said. ‘I don’t know how we were in the game. I don’t know how we’re in a game the way we’re shooting.’

Credit the Syracuse defense. SU utilized several defensive schemes to keep Villanova from finding rhythm offensively. Although the Wildcats shot 47 percent, the Syracuse defense forced 22 turnovers.

SU started in a zone but switched to man-to-man early and stuck with it for much of the game. In the second half, SU pressed more, causing a number of Wildcat turnovers. It wasn’t all Syracuse, though. Villanova ranks second-worst in the Big East, averaging 18.5 turnovers entering the game.

But without the ability to hit shots late, the second-half defensive effort went for naught. Now Boeheim needs to regroup his team, which appeared devastated in the locker room following a long speech from the head coach after the game. The Orangemen can still clinch a bye in the first round of the Big East Tournament with a win against Boston College at the Carrier Dome on Sunday or a Notre Dame loss to Providence.

For now, though, Boeheim has only questions without answers.

‘The bottom line is you’ve got make some shots,’ Boeheim said. ‘We’re not putting the ball in the basket. It’s hard to win in this league, period. It’s hard to win road games. We won four road games, and I don’t think we should have won four road games.

“We’ve got to find a way to go back home and make some shots and get back to where we need to be.’

Published on February 28, 2002 at 12:00 pm