For the second consecutive possession, Andy Rautins stood right of the key, beyond the 3-point line, and lofted a one-handed prayer toward the basket.

And for the second straight time, Wes Johnson escaped his defender, darted across the baseline and caught the ball in mid-air, slamming another mammoth alley-oop.

Even at that point – just six minutes into the game – the points were extraneous, the game was well in hand. But at the same time, with the Colgate offense writhing and No. 8 Syracuse (7-0) en route to a 92-58 Monday night victory in front of 18,457 at the Carrier Dome, the back-to-back jams highlighted a point – Syracuse can be a first-half team.

‘We are definitely a second-half team,’ Johnson said. ‘But tonight we came out and showed them that we can throw the first punch in the first half, and let it carry onto the second half.’

For what seemed like the first time all year, the Orange was able to get out on top of its opponent early and often. Normally thought of as a team that uses second-half adjustments to secure an edge, SU lashed out to a 31-point lead at halftime thanks to an abnormally assertive first-half attack.

Johnson kick-started the barrage with a pair of 3-pointers from the same spot just left of the key on consecutive possessions. When his defender failed to stretch out and put a hand up the second time, Johnson simply drilled another, giving SU a 6-0 lead it would not relinquish.

Johnson, who finished with a team-high 19 points, then turned things over to Rautins at the other end of the 3-point arc. Rautins finished the game 3-for-5 from deep for a total of nine points.

‘All I know is, I saw Wesley Johnson hit two 3’s in a row, and then Andy,’ freshman forward James Southerland said. ‘And then I just saw everyone catch on fire, so it probably rubbed off.’

The quick start erased memories of what had been a sluggish team out of the gates. Normally, a team that missed its first few shots and took its time acclimating itself to opposing defenses, was sharp and decisive.

SU guards Brandon Triche and Scoop Jardine manned an active perimeter that opened gaping holes for an inviting drive-and-dish offense, which eventually produced 35 Orange assists (three shy of the school record). With each drive came a concession on behalf of the Raiders (0-6) defense, which allowed the two point guards to continually pick out easy targets near the basket.

After Colgate’s Yaw Gyawu hit a layup to put the Raiders within 12 in the early first-half, the Orange offense went to work, continuing its rapid-fire offensive play. A pair of drives by Jardine forced the Raider defense inside, so the next drive, Jardine found a wide-open Rautins for an easy 3.

After Colgate moved back out to the perimeter to stop the bleeding, Jardine whipped a pass back inside to Rick Jackson on the next possession, capping yet another sizeable Orange run.

‘We moved the ball,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘Everyone was unselfish; we had 35 assists.’

By the time the Raiders were able to catch their breath, the listless Colgate offense was unable to recover – Syracuse’s second-string players were in as early as seven minutes into the game and kept the pace throughout the tenacious half.

The strong start allowed Boeheim to go deep into his bench early in both halves. Seldom-used Orange players totaled 50 minutes of playing time and log 24 points – including 10 each by Mookie Jones and Southerland.

Watching his teammates secure victory while playing just eight minutes in the second half, Triche was able to see the fruits of a first-half surge come to life. He knows his team is one that thrives on second-half changes, but is pretty comfortable with the alternative.

‘Today we didn’t really have to make an adjustment,’ Triche said. ‘We just jumped on ’em.’

ctorr@syr.edu

Published on November 30, 2009 at 12:00 pm