NEW YORK – Jim Boeheim’s words about Terrence Roberts still ring true.

Roberts posted 17 points and 14 rebounds in Syracuse’s victory over Villanova last week, prompting Boeheim to praise him.

‘When Terrence plays like this,’ Boeheim said, ‘we are a whole different team.’

Roberts had been a significant key in SU’s past three games, but he has been ineffective in the second half the last two.

Syracuse appreciated Roberts’ effort against Cincinnati last Wednesday when he scored 16 first-half points. At that point in the game, the Orange led the Bearcats with a comfortable 48-34 halftime lead. He hit one free throw in the second half and SU won by one point.

In Syracuse’s 64-60 loss to St. John’s Sunday, Roberts scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. But he scored zero points in the second half and finished 1-of-9 from the foul line.

Granted, the blame doesn’t fall squarely on him. Syracuse shot 37 percent in the first half and committed 15 turnovers in the game. Demetris Nichols, who shot only 5-of-14 but scored 13 points, and Josh Wright had four fouls. That hurts a game plan.

But Roberts scored nine of SU’s first 11 points and kept Syracuse in a game that it never really should’ve been in. Eric Devendorf tried to be a hero for the second straight game by scoring 18 of his 23 points in the second half. But if Roberts replicated his first-half numbers, SU would’ve had an inside threat.

‘I think he was active,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said of Roberts. ‘He missed a lot of free throws. He’s shooting a little better but he missed a couple of close ones and lost confidence. He couldn’t make anything.’

Roberts played well at a critical time early in the game. St. John’s stormed out to an eight-point lead in the first three minutes. Amidst a performance that included poor shooting, poor passing and poor defense, Roberts’ output certainly made SU different because it eventually came back

SU’s first bucket without involving Roberts came when Demetris Nichols made a lay-up at the 14:50 mark. But Roberts stayed involved early. He rebounded Andy Rautins’ miss and converted it into a reverse lay-up. He deflected two passes and also found Paul Harris open on a play.

Roberts declined comment after the game. But after SU’s win against Cincinnati he said his sore knee was part of the reason why he was not as effective in the second half. Who knows how much that had to do with his second-half lapse?

We do know this: the attention Darryl Watkins draws inside contributes to Roberts’ offensive performances. Roberts suggested Wednesday that even though Watkins doesn’t receive credit on the stat sheet, he’s the reason why Roberts finds himself open inside.

Well, Watkins scored only four points, leaving St. John’s little reason to worry about him – offensively that is. And with Syracuse not handling or distributing the ball well, there goes the inside presence SU needs.

‘I just happened to be in the right place at the right time,’ Roberts said of his first-half play on Wednesday. ‘The guards were doing a good job of penetrating in the lane and getting me those shots. I just finished strong at the rim.’

That didn’t happen this time around. Specifically pinpointing a problem to one variable simplifies the situation and can sometimes be beyond one person’s control. But Roberts can control his free-throw shooting.

It’s never been a strength of Roberts, who hasn’t matched his 55 percent from the line sophomore year. This year, he’s shooting 50.8 percent. Before Sunday’s game, Roberts improved his numbers by shooting 11-of-13 (84.6 percent) in Syracuse’s four conference games.

There is room for hope. Syracuse lost by four points. Roberts missed eight free throws. One can only wonder how different the game would’ve been if Roberts converted those free throws.

Mark Medina is a staff writer at The Daily Orange, where his columns appear occasionally. E-mail him at mgmedin@gmail.com

Published on January 20, 2007 at 12:00 pm