NEW YORK — Malachi Richardson sat in the corner of Syracuse’s locker room, ice on his left knee and a gaze fixed downward. He’s never struggled like he did Sunday. Not this season. Not ever.

His first 3-pointer touched nothing. His first basket didn’t come until the second half. In the most symbolic sequence of his day, with Syracuse down nine in the second half and clawing for a comeback, Richardson slid out of bounds on his rear end after having his shot blocked. He watched as St. John’s pushed the other way before getting up and chasing the play himself.

“Shots will fall eventually,” Richardson said. “That’s what I’m here to do. That’s the way I get points. That’s the way I help my team win.”

The freshman, despite 15 points, went 0-of-11 from 3 and 4-of-20 from the field. He was 3-of-20 from behind the arc in three games before Tuesday, when he hit 4-of-10 against Colgate to provide a brief respite from his slump. But at Madison Square Garden, the identity Richardson came to SU with temporarily vanished in Syracuse’s (7-3) 84-72 loss to St. John’s (7-3).

“I think today he was just kind of anxious for his shot,” senior Michael Gbinije said. “I think if he just mentally just calmed down things would’ve fell for him today.”

Richardson missed all seven shots he took in the opening 20 minutes, five of which came from behind the arc. He had space, a crisp crossover and step back often creating room for a shot, but the ball never fell through the net.

Syracuse only trailed by three with 2:55 remaining in the first half. A minute and 31 seconds later, St. John’s had stretched its lead to 10. The only shots SU took during that span were two misses from 3, both by Richardson.

“Malachi, in the first half, he was settling too much for the 3,” SU interim head coach Mike Hopkins said.

So to start the second, he attacked. A finger roll to open the scoring. A contested pull-up jumper. An and-one as he fell to the floor. The life drained from Syracuse as Richardson clanked back-to-back attempts at the end of the first half showed its head.

Hopkins said the team needs Richardson to be a “player” rather than a “3-point shooter.” He showed flashes of being multi-dimensional, as he has at times this season, but the spurts of promise were soon brought back down to earth.

After Richardson’s second airball of the day, the ball trailed out of bounds to the right of the basket and Richardson turned his head to the bench. Standing just feet from the freshman, Hopkins mouthed for him to “move it.”

“He was definitely aggressive tonight which is nothing wrong, but 0-for-11 is not a good percentage,” Gbinije said. “He’s a good shooter, he’ll bounce back. It’s just one of those days for him.”

The Orange never closed its deficit further than seven. Each time SU pushed in transition with a chance to trim the lead past that, the ball soon headed back the other way.

With 2:37 left and Syracuse down seven, Tyler Lydon attempted a highly contested layup. Richardson stood wide open behind him beyond the 3-point arc, nobody even in the vicinity, but he was only left with empty hands calling for the ball.

And as his 10th 3-pointer of the night went up, the Syracuse contingent in Madison Square Garden buzzed in anticipation. It was a shot that would have cut SU’s deficit from seven to four. The shot SU needed to get over the hump. But like the nine prior and one after, it didn’t fall.

“Just refocus,” Richardson said. “Get back to the basics, get back in the gym.”

Published on December 13, 2015 at 4:27 pm

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman