By Tyler DunneStaff Writer

On the bench, Andy Rautins’ teammates rose to their feet before he even released the ball. Again, again and again. Seven times in all.

Two days prior, he left Syracuse’s season-opener without any points and with a scary ankle injury. So much for that. On Wednesday, Rautins was unstoppable from deep to key SU’s painless 100-60 win over Robert Morris.

In 20 minutes, the senior shooting guard scored 22 points behind a sizzling 7-of-10 behind the arc. He started the game, moved around the court with ease and never cooled down from deep. As a result, Syracuse moved to 2-0. Next up is California in the semifinal round of the 2K Sports Classic.

From the opening tip, Rautins wasn’t gun shy. The daggers came from the corner, the wing, the top of the key, wherever he could find a soft spot. In addition to Rautins’ big night, Wes Johnson scored 15 points and Arinze Onuaku had 14. Five SU players scored in double-figures.

This one was over early. Rautins hit two threes in the final four minutes to silence a quick scare by Robert Morris. After the Colonials cut the deficit to 39-29 on a half-hearted inbounds pass, Rautins drained a 3 from the top out of a timeout. Moments later, Rautins hit another in-rhythm three to give Syracuse a 53-32 edge.

Rautins turned, clenched his fists and yelled in excitement. Safe to say his ankle is fine.

Quite a turnaround from Monday. After Syracuse’s 75-43 win over Albany, the prognosis seemed dim at best. Early in the second half, Rautins crashed hard on his left ankle and spent the rest of the game in the locker room. He was limping and grimacing. At his locker afterward he was wearing a bulky black boot over his ankle and in clear pain.

Until Rautins emerged for warmups Wednesday, his status was a mystery.

Much like Monday, Syracuse’s offense started with the defense. The Orange’s 2-3 zone suffocated Robert Morris at every crevice on the court. At the half, Robert Morris had 14 turnovers that led to a highlight reel of alley-oops and Rautins trifectas.

Syracuse’s point guard combination played error-free. Jardine and freshman Brandon Triche combined for 16 assists and committed only three turnovers-locating Rautins with ease.

thdunne@syr.edu

Published on November 10, 2009 at 12:00 pm