ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Tyler Roberson played his first minutes for Syracuse since Nov. 21 when he came on for B.J. Johnson just 1:13 into Syracuse’s 68-65 loss to Michigan on Tuesday night.

It was his first appearance since SU beat Iowa in the consolation game of the 2K Classic in Madison Square Garden, as the forward sat out two games with an abdominal strain. The sophomore who started for the Orange (5-2) in the team’s first four games of the season played 12 minutes against Michigan (6-1) and finished with five points.

“I think he helped us a little bit and we need him to contribute more,” SU forward Chris McCullough said.

Roberson’s 12 minutes in his return were a season-low. After quickly coming on for Johnson, Roberson was subbed out nearly as quickly himself. He played just 1:24 before getting yanked by Boeheim for missing a rotation on defense.

Roberson fixed the issue, he said, and he went on to play another nine minutes in the first half and tallied two points on 1-of-2 shooting, a rebound and a steal.

The forward started the second half, but with the game on the line, he played just three minutes after the break, going 1-of-3 from the floor and adding an and-one free throw with 8:15 to play.

But that was his last contribution of the day. The 6-foot-8 forward left the game at the 6:56 mark and could only watch as Syracuse fought for and lost a game of loose-ball scrambles down the stretch.

“You can always think like that, but when you’re out there you got to do what you have to do and stuff like that, and contribute,” Roberson said. “It’s a tough loss.”

Published on December 3, 2014 at 12:54 pm

Contact Jacob: jmklinge@syr.edu | @Jacob_Klinger_