Late in the second half of Monday night’s NIT second-round game against San Diego State, during an otherwise ordinary television timeout, Syracuse players stopped staring at Jim Boeheim and turned around toward the crowd. Terrence Roberts pointed at the upper deck. Other players applauded. Even Boeheim, the head coach who’s seen 31 years worth of crowds, paused his instruction.

SU was recognizing the largest crowd in the 70th-ever National Invitation Tournament -26,752 – that attended SU’s 80-64 win over San Diego State at the Carrier Dome.

‘We just have to be appreciative how much they were in the game from the beginning,’ Boeheim said. ‘I just think it was so great for them to come out.’

SU has had bigger crowds before, but the NIT has traditionally been an afterthought tournament. Syracuse wanted the NCAA Tournament, although there’s no home-court advantage in the Big Dance. In the NIT, there are home courts. Syracuse used the Carrier Dome’s crowd to its advantage Monday night.

The result was a worry-free win, which was Boeheim’s 750th career victory. It keeps Syracuse (24-10) playing for at least two more days. The Orange faces Clemson in Clemson, S.C., at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in the quarterfinals.

Even before the tip-off, the Carrier Dome crowd resembled a late-season Big East duel instead of an underappreciated NIT matchup. Throughout the game – especially after SU hit one of its nine 3-pointers – the cheers sounded like UConn instead of SDSU.

The crowd – and Syracuse’s offense – peaked in the second half, when SU extended a five-point halftime lead with a 19-3 run from the 18:34 mark to the 13:13 mark. SDSU had little answer because unlike many of the Orange’s runs this season, it wasn’t simply one person scoring – or one way of scoring.

Five different SU players scored during the run – Roberts, senior forward Demetris Nichols, senior center Darryl Watkins and sophomore guards Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins. Rautins and Nichols combined for three 3-pointers. Watkins converted a dunk, Roberts tipped-in a missed shot and Eric Devendorf used his combination of jump shots and lay-ups.

‘We like that balance because we have a lot of guys who can produce for us,’ Watkins said. ‘It’s a balance we’ve been able to find late in the season.’

Part of the difference in the second half was simply taking care of the ball. SU actually shot better in the first half – it hit six first-half 3-pointers and made 14 of its 28 field goal attempts – but the Orange committed 11 turnovers before halftime. SDSU scored all 12 of its points off turnovers in the first half.

‘That kept it closer than it probably should have been,’ Boeheim said. ‘In the second half, I thought we just moved the ball. We were patient.’

SU committed just four turnovers in the second half. It also helped that a handful of players who’ve been struggling recently came through with big games. Rautins scored 15 points, all on 3-pointers. Freshman Paul Harris added 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Junior guard Josh Wright added seven points.

This went along with Syracuse’s usual contributors. Nichols scored a game-high 20 points. Devendorf was held to eight points but dished seven assists.

There was also a significant disparity on the glass. Syracuse out-rebounded SDSU, 49-33. Interestingly, no SU player had double-digit rebounds, although five players had five or more – Roberts (8), Watkins (8), Harris (7), Rautins (6) and Nichols (4). Almost every player on SU was involved – even the four walk-ons; Todd Burach, Ross DiLiegro, Jake Presutti and Justin Thomas, who entered the game’s waning moments.

‘As a team, we’re just maturing,’ Roberts said. ‘Our younger guys are starting to understand what we’re trying to do, and they’re playing much better. Our guards are doing a much better job, from our starters to our bench. Our shooters are understanding when to shoot and when to pass. Once you bring all that together, we do a great job.’

The recipe sounds like something that would steer faith in an NCAA Tournament run. Instead, it’s an NIT run. Though the NIT isn’t the NCAA, it has provided SU two additional home games – and two additional home crowds.

‘When they put that number 26,000 up there, even I was in awe,’ Roberts said. ‘I didn’t know how many people get in there. But to get 26,000, I heard we were trying to break the record, the fan support was just tremendous.’

Published on March 19, 2007 at 12:00 pm