James Southerland couldn’t get anything to fall. Neither could Brandon Triche or backcourt mate Michael Carter-Williams. By halftime, the three combined to shoot 4-for-20 from the field against Louisville’s matchup zone.

For a third-straight game against a zone defense, head coach Jim Boeheim watched his Syracuse team struggle to score. Boeheim expects to see more as his perimeter threats try to find their shooting strokes again.

“It’s always tough to beat zones when you don’t make shots,” Boeheim said. “We had good shots the first half, they were all good shots and we didn’t make many.”

The dismal 9-for-33 shooting performance by SU in the first half was nearly matched by Louisville’s 9-for-29 clip. Though both teams found some rhythm in the second half, Syracuse’s 58-53 loss to the Cardinals on Saturday highlighted the team’s recent problems cracking opposing defenses.

Syracuse went scoreless for nearly four minutes in the first half, a stretch that saw a four-point lead turn into a five-point deficit. In that span, C.J. Fair and Southerland each missed jumpers. DaJuan Coleman’s attempt on the low block went long and Southerland’s 3 from the right corner missed, too.

Fair finally ended the scoreless stretch with a jumper from the right elbow. The forward finished the first half 5-for-11 from the field, carrying the SU offense and helping keep the Orange within four at the break.

Despite the cold shooting effort, Southerland said he wasn’t concerned with his 1-for-8 start to the game. He needed to stay confident and keep shooting in the second half.

“I had a little slump at the beginning of the game, but you can’t really focus on how many shots you miss in the first half,” Southerland said. “It would have been fortunate if a couple of those shots went in but at the same time, you just got to make sure you hit the next one.”

Almost five minutes into the second half, Southerland’s 3 from the right wing gave the Orange a 30-28 lead – its first advantage since it led 7-6 early in the first half. His 3 at the top of the key three minutes later pushed SU ahead again, bringing the entire bench and Carrier Dome faithful to their feet.

The sharpshooter would finish 5-for-12 from the field and 3-for-5 from beyond the arc as Syracuse turned in a 47.8-percent shooting performance in the second half.

But the poor performance overall offers some hope as the Orange try to snap a three-game slide.

“We’re shooting horrible,” Triche said. “A couple rolls can go to our favor so anything can happen right now.”

Published on March 2, 2013 at 6:09 pm

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu