Syracuse gets breaks to beat West Virginia

SYRACUSE — Sometimes you win through sheer will and determination.

Spiced with a little bit of luck.

Third-ranked Syracuse suffered through another poor shooting game, was badly outrebounded and gave visiting West Virginia several good chances in the closing minute in which to pull off the upset Saturday at the Carrier Dome.

But somehow, SU survived through the final frantic seconds to eke out a 63-61 Big East Conference win in front of a crowd of 28,740, largest in the nation this season.

The Orange (22-1 overall, 9-1 Big East), beating West Virginia for the fifth straight time and 13th time in the past 14 meetings, received 18 points from junior Brandon Triche and 13 from senior Kris Joseph.

Those two also made the biggest offensive plays down the stretch for SU, which led most of the game but could not put the Mountaineers away.

“That was like a bar fight,’’ Joseph said. “Whoever made the play at the right time was going to win. We’ve been doing that all season, but this was the first time we had to do it in a down-to-the-wire situation.’’

With the score tied 56-all, Joseph put SU ahead with a strong drive and free throw with just over three minutes to play.

After a 10-foot runner by West Virginia’s Jabarie Hinds, Joseph worked his way into traffic and put home a follow shot to give SU a three-point edge.

“I just decided to stop settling for the outside shot and go hard to the hoop,’’ Joseph said. “The (offensive) rebound was just a matter of me wanting it more.’’

West Virginia’s Kevin Jones, a Big East Player of the Year candidate who scored 20 points, then tied the game with a big 3-pointer from the corner with 1:43 left.

Triche calmly hit two free throws as the Orange seized a 63-61 lead with the clock running under a minute.

“If I make my first one (foul shot) of the game, I’m going to make them all,’’ said Triche, a team-leading 89 percent foul shooter. “Those were my first, but I felt good on both releases.’’

After a West Virginia timeout, the Mountaineers got good looks from 3-point range from Hinds and Jones, but could not cash in.

Hoping to put the game away, SU’s Dion Waiters misfired on a running one-hander at the 32-second mark, and West Virginia (15-7, 5-4) had another chance to tie or take the lead.

Senior guard Darryl Bryant, who scored all 12 of his points in the second half, missed another three. But 6-foot-9 teammate Deniz Kilicli grabbed the rebound and put a shot off the glass. SU’s Baye Keita appeared to goaltend, but the officials waived it off.

The ball ended up in Joseph’s hands, but he lost it out of bounds with 6.2 seconds remaining.

After another WVU timeout, Jones found the ball in his hands again just beyond the 3-point line. But SU’s 6-8 C. J. Fair flew out at him, and Jones’ potential winning shot was well short as the final buzzer sounded.

Asked later if he thought Kilicli’s miss was a goal tend, West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said, “No. I knew it was a goal tend.’’

West Virginia, the second-best rebounding team in the Big East, stayed close because it dominated the glass, outrebounding SU 41-20 and grabbing an astounding 19 offensive rebounds.

“It’s one thing to get outrebounded, which we have a lot,’’ SU coach Jim Boeheim said. “But by that much it’s probably a miracle we won. That’s the first time that discrepancy made such a big significant difference.’’

Boeheim blamed SU’s guards and forwards for “not tracking down the long rebounds out by the foul line. Their guards beat us to all of those loose balls.’’

SU’s futility from behind the 3-point arc also continued. The Orange made just 4-of-20, has hit only 24 percent in its last six conference games and 31 percent overall in league play.

“We got good looks, almost everybody, But we haven’t shot well since the league began,’’ Boeheim said. “The bottom line is we have to make them or it puts too much pressure on our defense.’’

Triche, who was 2-for-4 on 3-pointers, said, “We can’t ask for much better shots. Today, almost every shot looked really good, but they were just off a little. I believe once we start knocking down a few of those we’re really going to be tough to beat.’’

Boeheim said he knew West Virginia would be a tough out after losing by 16 at St. John’s on Wednesday.

“They are physical, and Jones is playing as well as anybody in the league,’’ Boeheim said. “It was one of those games where one or two plays on either end makes the difference. Today, we had just enough.’’

SU, which trailed most of the first half but rallied to lead 28-24 at halftime, did force 17 turnovers, came up with 11 steals and got 22 points off those turnovers.

“Thank God for that those or we don’t win,’’ SU’s Scoop Jardine said. “It was a game we just had to gut out and find a way to win.’’

Boeheim said that sophomore center Fab Melo, who missed his third straight game due to some sort of academic issues, “was working through them. We hope to find out this week if they are resolved.’’

Melo cheered on the Orange in street clothes on the SU bench.

Syracuse is now off until next Saturday at St. John’s.