MBB : Waiters steps up performance as Triche struggles
NEW YORK — Sprinting down the Madison Square Garden court after dropping the ball off for the ref – believing his foul call on Kemba Walker was a steal – it was almost as if Dion Waiters had a little Kemba in him.
With 8:04 left in SU’s eventual 76-71 semifinal overtime loss to Walker and Connecticut, Waiters was in the midst of a vital stretch where he helped Syracuse on both offense and defense. And even if he only brought a pinch of ‘Kemba’ to the game for SU, any would help. To that point, Waiters’ playmaking ability on offense and ability to defend Walker himself had helped SU reclaim a 55-52 lead on UConn.
‘Dion has played well through the tournament and I thought he was really good today,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said.
On the Madison Square Garden floor Brandon Triche described as a ‘stage,’ Waiters stepped in for the struggling starter Triche and played like a brazen fiery freshman. Trumping Triche’s 25 minutes in regulation with 26 of his own, Waiters played 14 second half minutes while Triche sat for most of the half.
And against the game’s star in Walker, Waiters fought back. Sure, Walker drained 33 points against the SU zone. But all year – and especially all tournament – the Big East’s best has let Walker run roughshod.
Waiters scored eight points and drilled two cold-blooded 3 pointers for the game. The second came at a crucial time, with 8:53 left in regulation to pull SU within one of UConn.
But scoring those eight points was just a part of Waiters’ production. He chipped in defensively throughout, and the play after his 3 he leapt for a crucial congested rebound.
Even when Waiters almost reverted to freshman fallacies, he saved himself. With 3:25 left, he immaturely drove into the heart of the Husky defense and forced an errant pass, only to sprint and save the ball as he tip-toed the out of bounds line. Two passes later, the possession Waiters saved found his cousin Scoop Jardine for a converted 3 and a tie game.
A day after scoring a career-high 22, Triche sat on the bench for much of the game, with Waiters was in his place. When Boeheim was asked postgame about a ‘reason’ for playing Waiters over Triche for much of the second half, the head coach was his trademark pitbull self.
‘Yeah, there was a reason (Waiters played in place of Triche),’ Boeheim said. ‘Yep. You asked a question. I answered it. He was 1-for-7 for 3 in the first half and Dion came in and played great. Maybe I don’t know what I am doing. Maybe that is the answer.’
Jardine comes up clutch, then loses touch
Scoop Jardine remained relatively quiet most of the night. That was until Syracuse appeared to be dead in the water.
Just when the outcome appeared to be bleak, with 21 seconds remaining, Connecticut forward Alex Oriakhi missed the second of two free throws. Syracuse had its opportunity. And Jardine took it.
The SU point guard dribbled right down court and, four seconds after Oriakhi’s miss, Jardine made it a three-point game. Syracuse was suddenly back in it.
Moments later, Shabazz Napier missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Jardine answered by hitting another trey from the top of the key to send the game into overtime.
‘When Scoop made that last one, he had a good look,’ Connecticut guard Kemba Walker said. ‘It was that first one, the one that went off the glass, that was the heartbreaker.’
In overtime, Jardine was unable to work his magic again. He made a layup to start the period, but missed two 3s in the final 17 seconds. One of them would have tied the game at 74-74. After that miss, Walker did the rest by sinking two clutch free throws.
Missed free throws put SU in a position where a 3 was the most logical way of getting back into the game. Jardine’s 3s gave the Orange a chance, but SU couldn’t finish the job.
‘I was worried about getting into overtime,’ Jardine said. ‘I gave my team the chance to win the game and we didn’t come through in overtime.’
Published on March 11, 2011 at 12:00 pm
