DENVER – You can usually catch Terrence Roberts on the sideline, towel-waving, fist-pumping and chest-bumping his teammates as they come in from a timeout.

That’s usually the biggest effect he has on the game. He only has played double-digit minutes once in SU’s last nine games and sat completely for two of those.

But yesterday, Roberts’ outgoing antics were on the floor. The freshman played 13 minutes off the bench. He and fellow freshman Demetris Nichols played well considering the freshmen had never seen the NCAA Tournament before. They combined for 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting in the Syracuse men’s basketball team’s 80-75 win over Brigham Young at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

‘Whenever I can get in and come off the bench, I try to bring that kind of fire,’ Roberts said. ‘Every little bit counts. I think that helped us come back.’

Indeed, as SU trailed by nine with 4:24 left, Roberts went up hard inside and drew contact. Seconds before a whistle blew, Roberts screamed for a foul and, after the call was made, flexed his upper body and hand-slapped his teammates as he walked to the line.

He hit one of two free throws before drawing an offensive foul on BYU’s ensuing possession. Roberts’ inspired play helped SU end the half on a 12-4 run.

‘Terrence Roberts came out there and did just an incredible job,’ center Craig Forth said. ‘He always brings a lot of energy and intensity.’

Evidently, game-day Roberts is the contrasting twin of off-day Roberts. Just 24 hours before tip-off, Roberts, slumped in a chair on the tournament’s media day, played with his cell phone, disinterested in the hoopla that surrounded him.

‘It hasn’t really been more than I expected or anything like that,’ Roberts deadpanned at the time. ‘I’m glad to be here, but so far it’s been mostly meetings.’

After yesterday’s game, though, Roberts joked with teammates as the Orangemen watched SportsCenter on the locker room’s TV.

Before yesterday, Roberts played a combined 18 minutes in SU’s previous three games, scoring no points and grabbing seven rebounds.

Like Roberts, Nichols, too, has struggled. Although he has started every game since replacing point guard Billy Edelin against Virginia Tech on Jan. 31, he hadn’t hit more than two field goals in a game since SU lost at Providence on Feb. 2.

Yesterday, though, Nichols hit 4 of 6 shots, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range, in 32 minutes.

Nichols showed the poise of a veteran, refusing to pass up early open looks – and draining each of them.

The freshman slipped through the lane and eased in a jumper to put SU up, 4-3. Then, just 30 seconds later, he hit a 3 to put SU up, 7-6.

Fellow freshman Louie McCroskey, once SU’s undisputed sixth man, played seven minutes and finished 0-for-1 from the field.

Since playing 26 minutes and scoring 10 points against Villanova on Feb. 23, McCroskey has seen his playing time dwindle all the way down to three minutes in SU’s regular-season finale against Connecticut.

‘I’m just happy to have been a part of one of the best games in the recent years in Syracuse history,’ McCroskey said. ‘It was good to be a part of that, even though I didn’t play as much as I thought I was. But it feels good to be a part of it.’

Published on March 18, 2004 at 12:00 pm