Jonny Flynn was flying toward the basket all alone for an easy layup that would have given the Syracuse a three-point lead. Paul Harris was streaking behind his point guard and shouted, ‘Off the glass.’ With a quick glance over his shoulder, Flynn obliged. He flipped the ball off the backboard to Harris, who slammed down a thunderous dunk to ignite the 21,233 fans in the Carrier Dome for the first time all game.

Just like that, a Senior Night rout was on.

‘I’m going to tell you, coach (Boeheim) would rather Jonny lay the ball up and get the easy two, but sometimes plays like that change the game,’ said Harris, who led Syracuse with 18 points and nine rebounds. ‘I think that gave us the momentum in the game. Honestly.’

After playing arguably its worst stretch of basketball all season in the first half, the No. 25 Orange exploded for a 70-40 blowout win over Rutgers Tuesday night. Syracuse (22-8, 10-7 Big East) scored 51 points in the second half on 21-of-28 from the field to embarrass a Scarlet Knights squad that led by one at halftime. It marked SU’s third consecutive victory by at least 24 points.

The win also clinched Syracuse a top eight conference finish, and ensured a first-round bye in the Big East tournament. The tournament begins Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Orange’s second-half explosion also inches the team closer to an NCAA Tournament bid, something the team missed out on the past two years.

But considering how well the Orange played in the final 20 minutes, it’s hard to imagine how poorly it started.

The first half was ugly. Syracuse shot 30 percent from the floor and 11 percent from 3-point range. The Orange had more turnovers (10) than it did made field goals (7). Fortunately for SU, Rutgers (10-20, 1-16) stunk, too. The Scarlet Knights went 7-of-26 (27 percent) and committed seven turnovers. RU led at halftime, 20-19.

But as soon as Harris and Flynn connected for their unorthodox alley-oop, everything changed. Shortly after Harris’ dunk, the Orange went on a 14-0 run to kick-start the pummeling.

From there, Syracuse took off from the outside, nailing four 3-pointers in a three-minute span. Shooting guard Andy Rautins hit three of the four treys, including two straight on consecutive possessions that gave Syracuse a 15-point lead.

The Scarlet Knights never recovered from the long-range barrage.

‘We were just waiting for someone to hit a shot from the outside,’ Orange head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘Once Andy hit that first one, everything loosened up.’

The game bore an eerie resemblance to when the two teams met in Piscataway, N.J., Jan. 10. The Orange won, 82-66, in an almost identical fashion. On that night, Syracuse took a one-point lead into halftime before scoring 43 points in the second half en route to a blowout. Flynn sparked the game’s key run with a show-stopping dunk.

On Tuesday, Flynn, along with Harris set off another Syracuse rally. The action in the second half quickly deteriorated into a circus – with Syracuse the only one laughing. And at Rutgers’ expense, no less.

Senior Kristof Ongenaet got into the action, slamming a monster dunk in the final home game of his Syracuse career. Afterward, he said his goal for the night was to have an opportunity to have a dunk. Rautins threw an alley-oop to Harris, who shouted as he landed.

‘Honestly, it was like playing on the playground, for real,’ Harris said. ‘All those steals and fast breaks. It was really fun out there.’

Jake Presutti and Justin Thomas, two walk-ons celebrating Senior Night, both scored baskets. In the final few minutes of the game, the Syracuse starters ran and laughed down the sideline, cheering and shouting as rarely used players came off the bench and contributed to the blowout.

When it was over, virtually all the Orange’s starters flung their shoes into the student section, one after the other.

Just another celebration for a team on a roll.

‘If we do this, I don’t think there’s anyone who can beat us,’ Rautins said.

jediamon@syr.edu

Published on March 3, 2009 at 12:00 pm