The fifth-year senior did what he was supposed to and led by example. As Syracuse entered the second half leading Cal State-Los Angeles by just seven, Scoop Jardine took it upon himself to give the Orange some breathing room.

He scored all nine of his points Tuesday night in the first 5:05 of the second half, helping SU extend its lead from seven to 18 right out of the locker room.

‘I felt that in the first half we were really tight on offense, so I had to get the team going,’ Jardine said. ‘And that’s what I’m here for. Whatever we need taken care of, I’m here to do it.’

Jardine played the role of passer in the first half and scorer early in the second to put together a complete performance as Syracuse defeated the Golden Eagles 79-49 in the Carrier Dome. The point guard finished the game with nine points, seven assists, two steals and only two turnovers in 17 minutes of play.

After attempting just two shots in the first half, Jardine came out much more aggressive in the second. He scored his first points of the game on a pull-up jumper from the top of the key and followed that with a traditional three-point play that energized his teammates.

He added another pair of free throws and a dunk to cap off a 20-9 SU run that put the game out of reach by the 14:55 mark of the second half.

It was a stark contrast from his performance in the first half, during which he focused more on setting up his teammates. Jardine found Melo with two perfect passes in the game’s opening five minutes — one was a well-timed lob for an alley-oop, and the other was a snap decision to abort a jump shot and zip the ball down low for an easy layup.

The nine points and seven assists represented a complete game for the SU point guard, something head coach Jim Boeheim expects to see all season from his most experienced player.

‘He started out the game and had three really nice passes, got the ball to people,’ Boeheim said. ‘And I think he was more aggressive offensively to start the second half, and that’s the way he’s going to play.’

Boeheim pleased with Triche’s aggressiveness

Having just missed a dunk from the right side of the hoop, Brandon Triche chased down the rebound into the left corner and fired up a 3-pointer. He missed again.

Such was the theme for Triche on Tuesday in SU’s win over Cal State-Los Angeles. The Syracuse starting shooting guard went 2-for-11 from the field and 0-for-3 from long range.

But head coach Jim Boeheim couldn’t have been happier with Triche’s mindset. He was finally attacking, and that’s exactly what Boeheim wanted.

‘Brandon was very aggressive tonight, and that’s the way we want to see him play,’ he said. ‘He got 11 shots up in 15 minutes. In the last two years it would take him 35 minutes to get 11 shots.’

In a game in which 10 Orange players received 14 minutes or more of playing time, Triche made the most of his time on the floor. He showed no hesitation in looking to create his own shot from different places on the court.

Several times Triche looked to push the ball coast-to-coast in transition. He pulled up for floaters in the lane, attacked the rim and found Melo on a perfect dish for an easy dunk.

‘I just tried to take advantage of all my opportunities,’ Triche said. ‘I wasn’t in that much, just because it’s the beginning of the season and everybody is going to play. Just trying to have fun, have a great feel out there.’

As last season progressed, Triche emerged as one of the most consistent scoring options for the Orange. He had 13 double-figure scoring games from January onward as his assertiveness continued to develop.

Now, Boeheim is hoping he maintains that scorer’s mentality in the 2011-12 season. The head coach acknowledged the importance of Triche’s offensive abilities to this year’s SU team and said Tuesday was a great start for his shooting guard.

‘He was very aggressive, they just didn’t go in,’ Boeheim said. ‘But they were all shots he can make. He could go 8-for-11. I thought that was a real good sign that he was very, very aggressive and looking to make plays.’

mjcohe02@syr.edu

 

Published on November 1, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13