HARTFORD, Conn. – As Michael Carter-Williams and Brandon Triche shot and missed, then shot and missed some more, James Southerland kept the game respectable.

Syracuse missed 19 of its 23 attempts from 3-point range in Wednesday’s loss to Connecticut, and Southerland was responsible for all four of the shots that actually found their way through the basket. He finished with 14 points in his second game back with the team, and presented the only threat on a night when Carter-Williams and Triche missed 10 times combined from beyond the arc.

“I think James was the only person to hit a 3,” Triche said. “Without him, it probably would have been even worse (than a 66-58 loss). I think it’s just them making shots and us missing.”

Southerland finished 4-for-9 from 3-point range, hitting a pair of triples in each half. But as the game wore on, and it became clear he would have no help from outside, Southerland began forcing a few of his attempts.

He drilled a 3 from the right corner out of a timeout with 11:46 remaining, giving the Orange a 40-39 lead. But he shot two more 3s on the next two possessions, both of which were questionable attempts.

The first miss led to a 3-pointer by Niels Giffey the other way, and the second miss came with Giffey’s hand right in his face.

“Unfortunately, shots didn’t go down (for my teammates),” Southerland said. “I feel like I was mentally focused, definitely on the offensive end in this game.”

By the time Syracuse needed outside shooting the most — the Orange tried to climb back from a nine-point deficit in the final 6:13 — the well had run dry. SU came up empty on each of its final five attempts from beyond the arc, including a miss by Southerland.

And when his hot hand cooled, there was no one left to help.

“They shot 8-for-14 from the 3, which is the best anybody has shot against us in a long time,” Jim Boeheim said of Connecticut. “And we didn’t shoot so well.”

Published on February 14, 2013 at 1:07 am

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13