Out of necessity, Jim Boeheim gave three of his youngest players extensive minutes. And out of necessity, each of them took advantage of nearly every minute they spent on the floor. With one of Syracuse’s most experienced, productive players on the bench in street clothes, three freshmen softened the blow his loss delivered to the Orange.

The trio of DaJuan Coleman, Jerami Grant and Trevor Cooney combined for 25 points in Syracuse’s 72-61 win over Villanova (11-5, 2-1 Big East) in the Carrier Dome on Saturday. With James Southerland ruled ineligible before the game and Brandon Triche in foul trouble in the second half, the freshmen’s scoring output gave the Orange (16-1, 4-0) exactly what it needed in a gritty win over the Wildcats.

“Those freshmen, really, they had to step up,” Boeheim said. “I told them before the game, ‘I think you’re good players. You know you’re good players. You haven’t played because the guys in front of you are better players. That doesn’t mean you can’t play.’ They stepped up big.”

Southerland is averaging 13 points per game this season. Grant matched that total on his own. He said he found out last night that Southerland wouldn’t be able to play, and went to sleep with mixed emotions. Southerland’s loss meant Grant would be handed more minutes, but he also felt bad for his teammate.

So in 29 minutes, the most he’s played all season, Grant grabbed five rebounds, hit five free throws and also had two blocks. For the first time all year, he wasn’t given sporadic minutes throughout the game.

“It’s definitely more comfortable. It allows me to get into a rhythm,” Grant said. “I felt good playing a lot of minutes. At the same time, I was tired though.”

Boeheim said Grant kept Syracuse in the game in the first half, when he scored seven of his 13 points.

Grant’s first-half highlight came with 6:04 left until the break. After C.J. Fair missed a layup, Grant flew in and slammed home the putback to give the Orange a 15-14 lead. As he spoke in front of his locker after the game, his iPhone lighting up with text message after text message, Grant said he wanted to come out with intensity.

“My mindset was just to come out aggressive,” Grant said. “I feel like I did that on the offensive and defensive end.”

And while Grant kept Syracuse in the game in the first half, Cooney and Coleman picked up their share of the slack in the second.

Cooney came into the game a little more than seven minutes into the first half and started out cold from the field. He missed his first four shots and went into the break without a single point.

When he was needed the most, though, Cooney found his stroke. With Syracuse up 55-47, Cooney drained a big 3-pointer from the left corner that electrified the crowd. And on Syracuse’s next possession, he hit another triple from the top of the key to make it 61-47, a 14-point lead for the Orange and it’s biggest of the day.

With Southerland, out, Cooney knew he had to give Syracuse a boost off the bench.

“When you lose a guy that comes out and scores offensively, other guys have to step up,” Cooney said. “I think Jerami and I, Dajuan, did a good job of that coming off the bench and just adding a spark to the team.”

Coleman finished with six points, but made big baskets when he needed to. With 13:09 left in the game, he made a nice move in the low post when he dribbled once, then maneuvered his way to the rim for a layup that gave SU a 42-36 lead.

“I thought DaJuan made a couple good plays. We got him the ball in position. He made a couple good plays out there for us which I think is good,” Boeheim said. “Defensively he knocked a couple away. I thought he was much more engaged.”

Triche came out of the game with 16:28 left in the second half, and didn’t come back out on the floor until there were about five minutes left.

Boeheim said after the game he played the three freshmen so much because he had to. While it might not be what he prefers, on Saturday, it ended up winning Syracuse the game.

“It was really freshmen that won us this game,” Boeheim said. “The three freshmen were the difference in the game.”

Published on January 12, 2013 at 6:31 pm

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman