Jericole Hellems pressed Joseph Girard III. The 6-foot-7 forward challenged Syracuse’s freshman up the court, instituting a full-court press 13 minutes into the game. With hips and elbows square, Hellems didn’t take his eyes off Girard. Hellems nodded slightly at SU’s point guard, threatening a steal with each dribble. 

Girard kept going. The Orange were down one Elijah Hughes and five on the scoreboard. Coaches had put the ball in Girard’s hands more after Hughes exited the contest with a lower-body injury in the opening minutes, stripping SU of one premier scoring option. In Hughes’ stead, Girard crossed half court. A few feet away from the basket, Girard stopped, rose and sunk a 3-pointer. 

Despite Hughes being sidelined, Syracuse (14-10, 7-6 Atlantic Coast) still featured the best player on the court: Girard. He notched 30 points on 22 attempts, including 11 free throw makes, all career-highs. That came with just one turnover and a 1-for-10 clip from deep — another instance of poor SU 3-point shooting. The freshman guard scored 10 more points Tuesday night than he had in any other conference game without a top tool, instead carving North Carolina State’s defense. After a 79-74 loss to the Wolfpack (16-8, 7-6) torpedoed any recent momentum, Girard’s performance offered a bright spot. 

“I just played my game,” Girard said. “…You never expect to go into a game right before tip and have (Hughes’ injury) happen.” 

Initially, though, Syracuse’s offense stagnated when Hughes sat. Girard flung a step-back 3 early in a possession and missed. As Girard turned around, Orange head coach Jim Boeheim already waving his arms, the guard tapped his chest as if to take blame. Boeheim would say postgame that Girard rushed the attempt, one of his few mistakes of the evening. 

The ball stayed with Buddy Boeheim, sometimes skipping to backup guard Brycen Goodine. Both of them worked to find their shot but neither could consistently. Buddy clanged mid-range jumpers, and Goodine reverted to his pre-Wake Forest self, missing an open dunk and triggering Girard’s re-entry. 

When he checked in, Girard demonstrated patience in the half court, passing over a few 3s for lanes inside. Usually facing a mixture of C.J. Bryce, Devon Daniels and Markell Johnson, Girard relied on dribble moves to work inside and then agility to finish over the tree-trunk combo of Manny Bates and DJ Funderburk.

Girard scored seven points in a 9-0 Syracuse run that ignited the crowd. As the Wolfpack tried to full-court press, a series of crossovers or set plays led by Girard handled the threat. He blew past Johnson on a restart, drawing a foul and free throws. SU then ran a similar play for Marek Dolezaj, who caught a quick feed from Girard to break the press and go coast-to-coast for a layup. 

“It helps you get in open floor a little bit,” Girard said of beating the press. “You have to play as freely as you can, but at the same time, make good decisions.” 

For the most part, Girard did. His lone turnover was a forced pass to Buddy around a screener near the SU bench. But on the next possession, he answered with a quick move past his defender and a finish inside over a NC State forward. 

“We put the ball in (Girard’s) hands,” Boeheim said. “Him and Marek, we put the ball in their hands more. When Joe got it going he was really good. … He kept us in the game.”

Through many close games this season, Hughes usually held the ball late, running isolation sets in crunch time. It was Girard’s turn on Tuesday night as he scored eight of Syracuse’s final 10 points. Yet, it wasn’t enough. Girard challenged red jerseys but was blocked out of bounds by Daniels on one possession, silencing the Dome crowd and drawing a yell from Daniels.

When Bryce nailed the dagger 3 within the waning moments, Girard threw his arms in front of his face. He then exhaled and lowered his hands to his sides. A historic evening blanketed in a tight conference home loss.

“He’s been working hard,” Buddy said.  “I’m not surprised. I know he’s capable of this any given night.”

Published on February 11, 2020 at 11:03 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez