When Amile Jefferson and Jabari Parker fouled out, 6-foot-8 forward Rodney Hood became Duke’s center.

The Blue Devils’ next-tallest player was 6-foot-5 guard Andre Dawkins. He was tasked with guarding the 6-foot-8, ultra-athletic Jerami Grant.

Dawkins had absolutely no chance.

Grant ripped off eight points in overtime — including three dunks in a row — en route to a career-high 24 points to go with 12 rebounds. C.J. Fair was the star of the night, but Grant was a consistently dominant second option. His inside presence guided No. 2 Syracuse (21-0, 8-0 Atlantic Coast) to a thrilling 91-89 overtime win over No. 17 Duke (17-5, 6-3) on Saturday, in front of a record-setting 35,446 in the Carrier Dome.

“Jerami’s a weapon we have,” SU point guard Tyler Ennis said, “and I think we don’t utilize him a lot.”

On the majority of teams in the country, Grant would be the No. 1 option.

He’ll likely be a lottery pick next year, and he’s one of the most explosive players in the country. But on Syracuse, he’s the third option, as Ennis and Fair often run the show.

On Saturday, Grant was sensational, shooting 7-of-11 from the field and 10-of-10 from the free throw line.

After an up-and-down first half, Grant was unstoppable in the second frame. He shot 4-of-5, including a sweet jumper off a pass from Ennis.

Yet most of his work came in overtime with the game on the line.

“Jerami Grant picked it up,” head coach Jim Boeheim said. “They had the little guard in there. He was able to get post down low and get some buckets in the overtime.”

Those buckets all came in succession — one throwdown after the next.

With Syracuse down 81-78 and in desperate need of a basket, Grant called for the ball inside. He swiveled his body around Dawkins, who frantically tried to cling to Grant before helplessly tumbling out of bounds.

The only man Grant had to beat was Hood, who came over to help on the play. They were the same size, but Hood couldn’t jump like Grant. Not even close.

So Grant took one power dribble, rose up and flushed it. Right in Hood’s eye.

Then he caught a pass in transition from Ennis, shielded Dawkins once again, and stuffed it. He pointed his finger at Ennis as he glided downcourt.

“Makes me feel good,” Grant said. “After I got the first dunk down, they just kept feeding me and I kept getting easy layups.”

Syracuse made a conscious effort to work the ball inside all game. Duke took a whopping 36 3s, while the Orange shot just four. There was a clear contrast in styles.

SU shot 57.4 percent from the floor, but the Blue Devils hung around by way of the 3 ball. Whenever Duke hit from downtown late in the game, Fair or Grant would counter inside or from mid-range.

At the end of regulation it was Fair. In overtime, it was Grant.

SU guard Trevor Cooney said it’s extremely difficult to guard Grant in the post. For a player who used to just be raw, now his game is polished. The only thing Cooney and Ennis had to do was feed him the rock.

“They were all pretty much just twos and 3s out there,” Cooney said. “Then you’ve got Jerami, who’s as big as a five on most teams and you just give him the ball.”

On a magical night in the Carrier Dome, Grant helped seal the win that gave Syracuse its best start in school history.

He was the spark Syracuse needed on Saturday, and the spark he has the potential to be on a nightly basis going forward.

Said Ennis: “We wanted to keep going to him as long as possible.”

Published on February 2, 2014 at 3:25 pm

Contact Trevor: tbhass@syr.edu | @TrevorHass