For the first time in a while, Craig Forth’s game needed no qualifier.

On Sunday, he didn’t just play well for Craig Forth. The junior played well. Period.

Forth recorded a double-double, his first of the year, with 14 points on 7-for-9 shooting and 13 rebounds in the Syracuse men’s basketball team’s 67-56 win over No. 7 Connecticut in front of 32,944 at the Carrier Dome.

‘He clearly was very good today,’ SU coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘(Emeka) Okafor was slowed down a little bit, but Craig got great position. He was really good for us. That’s important as we go on through the rest of the year.’

With the win, No.24 Syracuse secured a bye in the Big East tournament’s first round. Seton Hall beat Rutgers earlier in the day, 66-64, meaning SU needed a win to clinch the bye.

Forth was the main reason SU succeeded. His open looks usually came as a result of UConn double-teaming junior Hakim Warrick. When the Huskies did that, Forth slid behind the defenders, leaving himself open for easy lay-ups.

Forth found himself open, too, with guard Gerry McNamara driving to the basket more. Forth’s first four shots came on either dunks or lay-ups.

Soon, though, Forth felt confident enough to step back and shoot. He nailed a midrange jumper – a line drive through the hoop – with less than two minutes left in the first half. He had 12 points at halftime.

‘I just get ready to play,’ Forth said. ‘They doubled down on Hakim, and it just left me open. And it seemed like whatever I threw up there went in.’

Aside from providing SU with a viable scoring option, Forth – who made his first seven shots before missing with 11:35 left – denied Okafor, UConn’s star center, underneath. Okafor, a Player of the Year candidate, struggled with a back injury, scoring two points in 32 minutes. Okafor didn’t play the final 15 minutes in the second half. He said he played to try to secure a regular-season Big East title for UConn (24-6, 12-4 Big East).

Without Okafor, Syracuse’s new offensive set worked perfectly. Earlier in the season, SU (21-6, 11-5) showcased a run-and-gun, high-scoring offense. Now, though, the Orangemen are content slowing the tempo when there are no fast-break opportunities.

‘That’s what we’re doing now,’ McNamara said. ‘Run when you can and get good sets when you’re supposed to. We did a good job handling the ball today.’

Early, Syracuse looked in trouble. After grabbing a 16-10 lead, SU watched as UConn stormed to a 13-0 run to grab a seven-point lead. But two McNamara 3s allowed Syracuse to tie the game at 32 at halftime.

McNamara hit two more 3s at the beginning of the second half as SU built an eight-point lead, 42-34, with 17 minutes left. SU never again trailed.

Because Syracuse earned the bye, the Orangemen will play the winner of Wednesday’s Boston College-Georgetown game. Syracuse will play either the Eagles or Hoyas on Thursday at 2 p.m.

After Sunday’s win, Syracuse may be over its midseason lull. From Jan. 20 through Feb. 7, Syracuse lost four of five games. Now, heading into the tournament, Syracuse has won five straight, including wins over two top 10 teams – UConn and Pittsburgh, 49-46, on Feb. 29.

‘These guys took it upon themselves to come out and play a little harder on the defensive end and to battle a little better on the offensive end,’ Boeheim said. ‘We’ve been more patient. We’re getting the ball to the right guys. But to win the last five is a tremendous accomplishment for these kids. They finished the season as well as you could’ve expected of them.’

Published on March 6, 2004 at 12:00 pm