PHILADELPHIA — Jim Boeheim held his hand out as he yelled to his point guard. Approaching the three-minute mark, his Syracuse team held a six-point lead. It was time to wait, be patient and put the game away.

His point guard Michael Carter-Williams got the message and parked himself well beyond the 3-point line and waited. He calmly swayed the ball back-and-forth between his right and left hands until only nine ticks remained on the shot clock.

It was time to go, so Carter-Williams took off and recklessly turned the ball over. He ran an identical isolation play twice on the next possession and came up empty each time.

“We just tried to take some of the clock down by holding the ball out and using the ball screens,” Carter-Williams said. “We didn’t execute.”

Syracuse’s inability to execute down the stretch left the door open for Villanova and set in motion a dramatic sequence of events in the Wildcats’ 75-71 overtime victory on Saturday. It was Villanova’s second upset of a top-5 team at the Wells Fargo Center this week – the first was against No. 5 Louisville on Tuesday – ending with its fans storming the court once again.

The No. 3 Orange made late-game comebacks to beat Louisville and No. 21 Cincinnati in its last two games, but the magic ran out on Saturday, as SU was held scoreless in the final 3:36 of regulation.

“We’ve been really good down the stretch and today we weren’t,” Boeheim said.

Carter-Williams, who was the hero of those two wins, committed a turnover, missed Syracuse’s final shot from the field and misfired on a potential game-clinching free throw in the final two minutes.

It was a tight matchup throughout much of the second half, but the Orange broke it open with less than five minutes to play in the second half.

Brandon Triche received a firm chest pass from Carter-Williams and lined up a 3-pointer from the left wing. Syracuse led 57-53. Triche was greeted at halfcourt by his point guard, who could sense the Orange was finally taking control.

With a jolt of confidence, Triche wanted the ball in his hands. On the ensuing possession he sliced right through the lane for an easy layup to put SU up by six. The teams traded buckets before a Villanova turnover gave Syracuse the ball with 3:18 to play.

That’s when Boeheim called for patience along the sideline. And that’s when Carter-Williams went off the rails, losing the ball and falling to the ground after his failed attempt to split a pair of defenders at the top of the key.

“That was a bad play,” Boeheim said. “You just don’t do that in that situation.”

Villanova guard Darrun Hilliard converted the turnover into a fast-break layup. Syracuse’s lead shrunk to four points, but the Orange remained in control.

Boeheim stuck to the plan. So the Syracuse players stayed patient and waited while Carter-Williams methodically dribbled the ball between hands out top.

With 10 seconds left on the clock, the play began with a screen by SU center DaJuan Coleman. Carter-Williams dribbled around the right side, and the possession ended with a missed jumper by C.J. Fair.

Syracuse received a fresh 35 seconds when Villanova knocked the rebound out of bounds, but Carter-Williams’ drive off another set of ball screens saw a forced pass become another turnover.

“Once Mike was driving, I think he was more so looking to find open players,” Triche said. “But there wasn’t really an open player so I think he put himself sometimes in bad positions.”

Despite the team’s inept offensive play down the stretch, Syracuse remained out in front entering the final minute. The Orange took possession up three after a Mouphtaou Yarou free throw.

Once again the ball was in Carter-Williams’ hands. But his runner in the lane with 36 seconds left was too strong. Villanova still had life.

The Wildcats’ game-tying 3-point attempt by Ryan Arcidiacono missed, and Villanova had to put the Orange at the free-throw line. Carter-Williams stepped to the line for a one-and-one with a chance to end the game with 18.8 seconds remaining.

He left it short. Villanova still had life. And this time Arcidiacono drilled a game-tying 3-pointer from the corner with 2.2 seconds to go, forcing overtime and setting the stage for another court-storming upset.

“We made a couple bad plays, but we were up three and with that ball,” Boeheim said. “You got to make that free throw in that situation and the game’s over.”

Published on January 26, 2013 at 5:02 pm

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu