NEW YORK – Syracuse men’s basketball head coach Jim Boeheim made it much clearer the night before: He who does not make shots does not win.

On Thursday night, it was Texas Tech that fell victim to that statement. But Friday night, the tables turned. It was the Orange offense that went missing when needed most.

No. 16 Syracuse didn’t score during a five-and-a-half-minute stretch late in the second half as Florida pulled away to win the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer, 75-70, denying the Orange a second Classic championship in as many years.

During Syracuse’s scoreless period – which lasted until 1:17 remained in the game – Florida (4-0) turned a two-point deficit into a 72-62 lead. Six different Orange players contributed to 12 consecutive missed shots during that stretch and SU (3-1) shot a paltry 26.5 percent after halftime.

‘I think our offense cost us in the second half,’ Boeheim said. ‘We battled back at 60-60, but we made two crucial turnovers and missed a layup. (Florida center Al) Horford made a couple of 15-footers and that was really the game. They just made more shots in the second half.’

The dagger was a Taurean Green 3-pointer to culminate a 12-0 UF run. Green, who scored 23 points for the second straight game, was named the tournament MVP. He was one of five Florida players to score in double figures as the Gators showcased an ability to score from inside and out for the second consecutive night.

It was a lack of balance that doomed the Orange. In the first half, forward Demetris Nichols had the hot hand from outside with four 3’s and 18 points. Terrence Roberts took over with short jumpers in the lane for 12 second-half points. Through it all were Gerry McNamara’s 3’s and running two-pointers in traffic. But there was never more than one option clicking at once.

‘We probably missed over the last five minutes a couple easy 3’s and a couple easy layups,’ McNamara said. ‘In any other situation, we make those shots and those layups. But tonight, for some reason, we couldn’t get them to go in and that was the difference right there.’

Nichols finished with a game-high 24 points and Roberts totaled 16. McNamara warned all preseason it will be a bad sign for the team if he forces shots. That proved true against Florida as he shot only 5-of-19 from the field to finish with 13 points.

Florida put the game out of reach by going inside on Syracuse’s man-to-man defense. The Orange deserted its patented zone in the middle of the first half because the Gators’ Green and Lee Humphrey each drilled four 3’s.

Forward Joakim Noah keyed an 11-0 Florida run shortly after halftime to put Florida ahead, 56-47. After Roberts led SU’s comeback, it was Horford and backup forward Chris Richard who directed UF’s 12-0 run.

‘Mental lapses on defense down the stretch really killed us,’ Roberts said.

SU ended the first half with a 44-43 lead because Nichols matched Green and Humphrey’s 3-point barrage. At one point, Humphrey scored nine straight points for Florida and Nichols scored eight of 10 for Syracuse in a personal duel.

‘We have to play 40 minutes and we didn’t do that,’ McNamara said. ‘We came out sluggish and let them get hot early and that carries over. Anytime you do that, teams are going to carry that momentum for the rest of the game and we just didn’t do a good job of coming out early and setting the tone.’

So there is no answer yet to the biggest question coming into the season for the Orange – who will step up offensively in crunch time without Hakim Warrick or Josh Pace? Still, Boeheim wasn’t concerned with his team after four games.

‘Most teams haven’t played a game yet,’ Boeheim said. ‘So we’ve learned a lot of things at this stage that put us a little ahead of where we would normally be.’

Published on November 21, 2005 at 12:00 pm