COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Jerami Grant did not play the final 22:01 of No. 4 Syracuse’s 57-55 win at Maryland on Monday night due to a sore back.

Grant, who finished with four points in 13 minutes, said he experienced similar pain in the Orange’s loss to Duke on Saturday, but this time he was unable to return to the court after halftime.

“It’s fine,” Grant said. “I’m not sure when it happened, but it’s just a little injury. I’ll be back. I’m fine.”

Grant said he expects to play in SU’s game against No. 12 Virginia on Saturday, and asked to re-enter the court at the Comcast Center late in the game as the Terrapins rallied back to nearly upset the Orange in the final moments.

“He wanted to go in in the last 30 seconds and I said it was a little late,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said with a smile.

“He just told me to rest. He already knew we were going to win the game,” Grant said.

Boeheim said Grant has experienced similar soreness in his back before and been able to play full games soon after.

In his absence on Monday, point guard Tyler Ennis became more offensive-minded and finished with a team-high 20 points.

He said there are a number of adjustments SU needs to make when it’s without the hyper-athletic 6-foot-8 forward.

“We’ve got to help on rebounding,” Ennis said. “He’s a big piece of our team, so whenever you lose someone like that it’s going to be a little bit different.”

Luckily for the Orange, it has five days before traveling to face the Cavaliers in its next game. And for Grant and the rest of his tired teammates, that means time to rest.

Said Boeheim: “We’re going to the whirlpools. We’re going to spend a lot of time there. We need a couple days to take it easy and then get back.”

Published on February 25, 2014 at 12:32 am

Contact Stephen: sebail01@syr.edu | @Stephen_Bailey1