Joseph does his part for SU
SYRACUSE — Kris Joseph is the kind of player every major Division I college basketball program dreams of landing.
Good enough to start on most teams, the 6-foot-7 sophomore forward is more than happy to come off the bench for Jim Boeheim and contribute any way he can to the Syracuse success.
Tuesday night, with scoring leader Wes Johnson limited to just 22 minutes after taking a hard fall in the first half, Joseph picked up the slack and scored a career-high 23 points to lead the No. 3 Orange to an 85-68 Big East Conference victory over Providence in the Carrier Dome.
The win, SU's 22nd in 23 games and the ninth in a row, gives the Orange its best start in the long and storied history of the program. One of the main reasons is that Joseph has filled a key reserve role and become such an invaluable performer.
"Kris is by far the most improved player on the team," said Johnson, who scored eight points in just 22 minutes. "He's grown into his role with every game. I look at him as kind of a little brother. He did me proud tonight."
Senior center Arinze Onuaku contributed a season-best 20 points on 10 of 12 shooting, and freshman guard Brandon Triche added 15 points as the Orange shrugged off a sluggish first half and pulled away with another scintillating second-half performance.
"We needed to get the ball inside and we did," said SU coach Jim Boeheim, whose club scored 54 points in the paint for the second time this season. "AO (Onuaku) was as active on offense and especially defense as he has been all year. That makes us a totally different team."
As for Joseph, Boeheim can't sing his praises enough.
"He's been so steady," Boeheim said. "With teams paying so much attention to Rick (Jackson) and AO, and Wes, that opens up a lot of driving lanes for Kris. The big thing is he is getting better every game."
Joseph went 9-for-11 from the floor, including several uncontested dunks, and was 5-for-5 at the foul line.
"I just want to be aggressive when I come off the bench," said Joseph, who hit double figures for the fourth straight game. "With Wes out, I knew it was up to me to give us some energy. The guards found me for easy hoops and that always helps your confidence."
Johnson, the junior transfer who leads SU in scoring and rebounding, went down in a heap after leaping for an alley-oop pass from Scoop Jardine with 11:56 left in the first half.
"I kind of found myself off-balance in the air, but I was able to brace for the fall a little bit," said Johnson, who played just three minutes of the second half. "At halftime, my leg stiffened up a little, but it will be OK."
Boeheim said Johnson could have gone back in if he was needed. "But it was good to give him that rest. Everybody just picked it up when he went down."
Senior guard Andy Rautins (8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists) said that's the true measure of a team, that somebody else is always there. "It can be anybody on a given night," Rautins said. "Tonight Arinze and Kris were the ones. The next game it could be two different players. We don't rely on just one or two guys to be successful."
Jackson scored only six points, but dished out a career-high seven assists.
"You know Rick will find you if you're open," said Onuaku, whose previous high this year was 15 points versus North Carolina. "Communication is the key. Rick and I have been playing together for so long we just know where the other one is at all times."
Providence (12-10, 4-6), held to its second-lowest scoring output of the season, attacked the inside of the SU zone for 18 first-half points and trailed only 37-34 at halftime. But just as in the Georgetown game, the Orange went immediately inside to its big guys to start the second half, and turned up the defensive pressure.
Onuaku had three hoops, Jackson two and Triche nailed a big 3-pointer as SU extended the lead to 50-37 just four minutes into the second half.
A driving Triche hoop capped of a 22-5 run and built the Orange lead to 59-39 with 13 minutes remaining.
Sophomore Jamine Peterson scored 25 points for the Friars, who began a six game stretch against five of the top teams in the league.
"Syracuse is a legitimate national contender," said second-year Providence coach Keno Davis. "They do everything well, they're big, strong, quick and have so many offensive weapons."
SU plays at Cincinnati at 2 p.m. Sunday.
