PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Just hanging on against Providence doesn’t put players in Syracuse lore. No epic montage is made and it is almost certainly forgotten when the next opponent is nationally ranked Georgetown.

But Demetris Nichols saved SU’s season Saturday when he hit the game-winning 3-pointer in the Orange’s 71-67 win over Providence, and with that he made the Orange perhaps one win away from the elusive NCAA Tournament.

With the game knotted at 65 and only 50 seconds left in the game – and maybe that many seconds left in the season – SU called a double screen to get Nichols open. The senior, as he’s done for much of the season, came through. He hit a fallaway 3-pointer over the defense, a difficult shot in any situation but even more laudable considering the circumstance and the implications.

‘That shot was tough,’ Nichols said. ‘But I got a good look at it and I knocked it down.’

It gave SU (20-8, 9-5) a three-point lead with 37 seconds remaining. Providence senior Herbert Hill, who scored a career-high 29 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked eight shots in his Senior Day, hit the final field goal of his career at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center with 21 seconds left to bring the Friars within one point.

On the ensuing inbound, Providence was able to force a jump ball, but not a turnover. The possession arrow pointed toward the Orange, and SU successfully delivered the ball to guard Eric Devendorf on the next inbound. He made one of his two free throws, and Providence (17-10, 7-7), trailing by two points, still had a hope of winning the game.

The pass was delivered to Weyinmi Efejuku on the left elbow. He took it and either missed a rushed lay-up or was struck by SU center Darryl Watkins. The opinion varied depending on what color shirt you were wearing.

‘With the way the game was being called, you can get slapped in the side of the head,’ Providence head coach Tim Welsh sarcastically said. ‘You pretty much have to get tackled to get a call.’

Whatever it was, freshman Paul Harris pulled down the rebound and made both free throws on the other end, giving SU a four-point lead and the eventual 71-67 score. For practically the first time of the game, the 10,800 fans who sold out the Dunkin’ Donuts Center were in disbelief, save for the few students who had some choice words for the referees.

It was the culmination of a back-and-forth brawl that featured two teams desperate for their postseason lives. Four SU players reached double figures for the second-straight game. Nichols finished with 18 points, only topped by Andy Rautins’ career-high 19. Devendorf scored 14 points and Darryl Watkins finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

The Orange had to figure out a way to win without two of its regulars playing for much of the game, Josh Wright and Terrence Roberts. Wright didn’t start for the first time this season because of a mid-week flu. Roberts was showing the effects of a knee injury that has been hindering him throughout the season and likely won’t change.

Roberts’ injury hurt SU on the boards, where it was out-rebounded 51-38. Syracuse allowed 26 offensive rebounds, which should strike the Orange as a particular concern after playing well on the glass in its previous three wins.

‘Everything’s a concern right now,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said.

Another concern is finishing the first half, a point in games that’s been marked by inconsistency this season. Providence unleashed an 11-3 run to finish the half, including the final six points of the half. The rabid crowd erupted into its loudest ovation of the game and the Orange didn’t even attempt a play in the final few seconds, instead just letting the clock tick away.

Boeheim had his photogenic scowl at play, and his players sulked into the tunnel looking like they had a geology test they didn’t study for.

‘We went at it a little too quick at the end of the half and gave them a bucket,’ Boeheim said.

The second half provided a different fate. SU played more composed and Boeheim said the defense played as well as it has all year. Nichols caught fire, nailing three 3-pointers in a four-minute span. SU couldn’t work up too large a margin, though, because the Friars moved out of the zone Welsh picked up when he assisted Boeheim at Syracuse and moved to man-to-man to avenge the Orange’s 3-point shooters.

It couldn’t take the lead, though, and it left Welsh visibly frustrated in the post-game press conference and the Syracuse players relieved. Now with 20 wins and Georgetown and Villanova remaining, SU’s fate is entirely in its hands.

‘We’re on the bubble and they’re on the bubble,’ Nichols said. ‘We knew we had to leave it all on the floor and just win.’

Published on February 25, 2007 at 12:00 pm