Malachi Richardson’s fadeaway 3-pointer wasn’t a pass, but it served the same purpose. The looping shot fell right into the hands of Tyler Roberson camped under the basket, and he dropped it in. The ensuing two possessions also ended in the hands of Syracuse’s suddenly aggressive forward.

The next play he tipped a missed shot to himself on the defensive glass. On the other end seven seconds later, he cut through defenders and dove to the floor to save an offensive rebound.

The trio of plays commenced a 10-0 Syracuse run that put the Orange ahead for good.

“I think I was just active and going after rebounds, playing hard,” Roberson said. “I think we need to rebound to win…I think I was putting myself in a little better position.”

In Syracuse’s first game, Roberson went scoreless in just 21 minutes. Against St. Bonaventure on Tuesday, he fouled out despite grabbing 12 rebounds. But SU’s (3-0) 66-55 win over Elon (2-2) on Saturday saw Roberson piece together his most complete game of the season. He posted a career-high 20 points and added 16 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive glass.

He took advantage of open rebounds when his defender went to help with Syracuse attacking the basket more consistently.

“People are going to be concerned about Trevor (Cooney), Mike (Gbinije) and Malachi,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said, “and (Roberson’s) got to be able to find those spots.”

Boehiem said when Roberson set screens, it forced defenders to help out, putting Roberson in the best position to score. On Saturday, Roberson connected on nine of his 15 chances and committed just two fouls in 37 minutes.

He made his loudest statement of the night when he cut to the basket across the baseline with Syracuse moving in transition. He caught a quick pass from Richardson and immediately went up as he made body-to-body contact with Elon’s Jack Anton. His shot went off the glass and Anton spilled to the floor having given Roberson a chance at a 3-point play.

It capped Syracuse’s first 10-0 run of the night and helped propel the Orange to a six-point halftime lead.

“It was big. I just ran the floor,” Roberson said. “As soon as Malachi saw me, I finished the play.”

After Syracuse defeated Lehigh in its season opener just eight days before, Boehiem’s only comment on the big man was to say that he didn’t see much. No points and five rebounds. He was an afterthought on a team that could afford it on that night, but not in the future.

On Friday, he broke his ever-stoic facial expression to smile when asked why his head coach was never happy with him. He said he took it more of a challenge than as a slight. Boeheim may not have seen much from his starting forward a week ago, but he was impossible to miss against Elon.

“I think he could do that every single night,” Cooney said. “I really do. And I think everyone else in this room does. When he goes out there and plays his game and dominates, you see the numbers he can put up.”

Published on November 21, 2015 at 10:50 pm

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3