When Demetris Nichols picked up his third foul at 5:04 of the first half, Paul Harris knew he had his chance at playing time. He just didn’t want to squander it.

‘I want to make the players make something happen while I’m in there so I don’t have to come out,’ Harris said.

Thanks to effective play and his teammates’ foul trouble, Harris played 21 minutes – his highest total since SU’s Big East opener vs. Pittsburgh on Jan. 4.

Harris tied a career-high in rebounds with 12, and scored four points. He turned the ball over twice.

‘I was trying to be a person out there doing the dirty work, rebounding and playing defense,’ Harris said.

Still, that didn’t seem to please SU head coach Jim Boeheim, who is looking for a little more from Harris on the offensive end.

‘He hurts us on offense,’ Boeheim said. ‘He’s a good defensive player and can rebound the basketball. But when Demetris is not in or (Harris) is not shooting well, it gives us a team that struggles a little bit to score.’

Boeheim said after Wednesday’s win vs. Cincinnati that he would reevaluate Harris’ playing time, after the freshman played a career-low four minutes. Four minutes into the game Sunday, Harris substituted in for Darryl Watkins.

Harris has encountered trouble in adapting to Syracuse’s halfcourt offense, a factor that has significantly limited his playing time in conference games. While Harris did not show much improvement offensively, he saw more court time and responded with a strong defensive effort.

But obviously, Harris wants to contribute offensively. The best chance for him to do so is on the fast break.

‘We have to run more,’ Harris said. ‘We have to get the rebounds and get more fast break points.’

Roberts up and down

Terrence Roberts notched his third-consecutive double-double, but after the 64-60 loss to St. John’s, he didn’t want to talk.

Roberts declined comment in the locker room and sat in his chair with his head down, buried in a towel.

Roberts, who coming into the game was 11-for-13 from the free-throw line during conference play, finished just 1-for-9 from the line on Sunday. He scored all of his 11 points in the first half.

He attempted just two shots in the second half, and missed both. Without Roberts, Syracuse was left with little inside presence because senior center Darryl Watkins was not much better.

Watkins attempted six shots and scored only four points. He was held scoreless Wednesday vs. Cincinnati.

SU was out-rebounded by the Red Storm, 44-43.

‘I was disappointed in our inside effort, rebounding,’ Boeheim said. ‘We missed a lot of free throws. In this league, you can’t do that. Whenever you play in this league, you’ll play against somebody good enough to win the game.’

This and That

St. John’s guard Daryll Hill did not play in Sunday’s game due to soreness in his left knee. Hill, a senior, averages 6.3 points and 3.2 assists per game, but has been hampered by the knee injury since he underwent surgery on Feb. 27, 2006. His scoring output is a far cry from the 12.3 and 20.7 point-per-game averages he had the past two seasons. … St. John’s students stormed the Madison Square Garden court as time expired. The crowd was largely pro-Syracuse, but that didn’t stop a small gathering of St. John’s students from enjoying the Red Storm’s biggest win of the season.

Published on January 20, 2007 at 12:00 pm