As the waning minutes vanished from the game clock Tuesday, there was finally time.

There was time for senior forward Arinze Onuaku to look into the stands after a crushing dunk and smile at his mother ? it was the first, and last, time she’ll see him play in the Carrier Dome.

Just like there was time for Andy Rautins to take in a panoramic of the stadium he’ll never play in again. As he was subbed out for the last time, the senior guard looked toward the masses and admired the atmosphere that had become his life during the last five seasons ? Onuaku said he had to keep him from crying.

‘I didn’t cry,’ Onuaku said. ‘I had to hold up Andy from crying. I saw a tear or two and had to hold him up real quick but, I mean, it’s just special. We came in together the same day. We were two guys that they thought wouldn’t be much, and we came in, worked hard and it’s paid off.’

Unlike before, there was time for a lot of things during No. 1 Syracuse’s 85-66 battering of St. John’s in front of 26,081 Tuesday. Time to watch the Orange (28-2, 15-2 Big East) players stand like wide-eyed children as they collectively hoisted just the second outright conference title in program history. Time to watch Syracuse’s frontcourt explode again, shifting the once-solidified dynamics of the team’s offense. Time to see five players race out and score in double figures, boggling a Red Storm defense with no answer.

But mostly, there was time to appreciate the two players who were almost out of time. To appreciate Rautins and Onuaku in their last-ever home game at Syracuse, one where they were fittingly the team’s two leading scorers.

‘I don’t think you could have written it any better than this,’ Rautins said. ‘For Arinze to play so well and, I had a pretty good game, too, you know we found each other a couple times and it was really special.’

At the game’s outset, it didn’t appear the night would play out quite this way. St. John’s ? marred as a conference bottom-feeder ? came out hungry and aggressive. Paris Horne drilled a 3 to give the Red Storm (15-14, 5-12) an early lead less than a minute into the game. Anthony Mason Jr. crept out and stole a pass on the next possession.

By the time D.J. Kennedy hit a 3 with 8:29 remaining in the first half, it seemed as though St. John’s wouldn’t go away. Down by just three points, there was a lingering uneasiness surrounding the game.

But in an instant, Syracuse triggered a run that would blow the Red Storm out of the water. Sparked by a series of blows from Scoop Jardine and Kris Joseph and ending with the two fifth-year seniors, a game that was once in contention was, all of a sudden, over.

Rautins continued to drain the St. John’s defense with each momentum-crushing 3-pointer. When he was double-teamed, or face-guarded, he would zip in one of his seven assists, cutting a hole through the pressure-man defense stacked in front of him.

Onuaku took over underneath the glass. His total points – just six at the half – swelled to 21. Every time down the floor he was the focal point, taking feeds from the perimeter and plowing his way toward the hoop for one easy basket after another.

‘He’s starting to come on,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘He’s more active than he’s been. He’s going to the boards the best he’s been all year.’

By then, the lead had ballooned. And for the players who’d been bogged down during the past few weeks with the hype, with the grandeur and the expectation, there was finally time.

Rautins had some time to come to the bench, talk things over with his coaches. Onuaku had time to take a step back and watch Joseph shoot a pair of free throws while he laughed with Jardine in the backcourt.

And finally, as the crowd rallied through its standing ovations, both of them had time to take it all in. To listen to the auditory appreciation for their combined decade of service in Syracuse uniforms. To think about all the time they had put toward this one single moment.

‘It’s been unbelievable,’ Rautins said. ‘I get pretty choked up just trying to talk about it.’

ctorr@syr.edu

Published on March 2, 2010 at 12:00 pm