CINCINNATI — The block pinned perfectly against the backboard, the two spot-on passes for backdoor cuts, the single offensive rebound given up to Yancy Gates.

Rakeem Christmas didn’t play like a first-year player in a raucous environment.

‘Oh, man. He played a lot better,’ Syracuse shooting guard Brandon Triche said. ‘Still have some improving to do, just from his youth, but he had a lot of heart. He rebounded, he was able to score buckets early and just his presence down there helped us.’

A game after Notre Dame’s Jack Cooley bludgeoned the interior players for the Orange, Christmas responded. In what assistant coach Gerry McNamara called the best game of the freshman’s young career, he posted four points, nine rebounds and three blocks in 27 huge minutes for SU (21-1, 8-1 Big East). His ability to battle against Gates and the UC forward’s 38-pound weight advantage proved crucial for Syracuse in a 60-53 win over the Bearcats (15-6, 5-3 Big East).

Scoop Jardine said after watching the film of Cooley’s tenacious 17-point, 10-rebound performance against the Orange, he and his teammates saw a lack of heart. They needed to be stronger and more physical all around.

Monday night, that started and ended with Christmas.

‘Cooley took it to all of us, not just Rak,’ Jardine said. ‘He took it to everybody. He wanted it more than us. So we watched film on that and we’ve seen that, and tonight we weren’t letting Yancy do it. And you saw that, Rak played a great game.’

Every time the 6-foot-9, 260-pound wall of muscle posted up for the Bearcats, there was Christmas scrambling to get in front of him. It forced Gates out toward the free-throw line to catch the ball, a spot where he can’t use his muscle.

And it freed up Christmas to use his athleticism for two big blocks on Cincinnati power forward Justin Jackson, whose 210-pound frame is smaller than that of the SU freshman.

The first block on Jackson preserved a 48-42 lead late in the second half. The second was on a layup attempt in the lane that Christmas pinned beautifully against the backboard with less than six minutes to play.

‘He was physical, he was tough, blocking shots,’ McNamara said. ‘Yancy is a big, strong, physical player and very talented. … It was a big step for him. He was more physical tonight, and that’s how we’re going to need him to play.’

Christmas even showed an expanded offensive game with two beautiful assists on backdoor cuts.

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim liked the odds of his team’s half-court execution against the aggressive nature of the Cincinnati defense. So after a huge one-handed slam from UC’s Dion Dixon to close the Orange lead to four, Boeheim called out a set play.

Christmas caught and held at the top of the key, waiting for Jardine to make his break back toward the hoop. He hit him in stride for an easy layup.

Several minutes later, his second assist found Triche on the exact same play for the reverse layup.

‘I was worried about him because a freshman is making that pass,’ Boeheim said. ‘But he did, he made it. He made two good passes in that situation. I thought that was what kind of broke it.’

Christmas and Baye Keita struggled terribly in their first game without starting center Fab Melo on Saturday at Notre Dame. But Monday was different. There was a new edge for both players, a bigger chip on their shoulders.

Keita played only 13 minutes and tallied just one rebound, but Kris Joseph said the play of Keita and Christmas together was huge. While Cooley beat Syracuse with raw determination and will, Gates has a larger skill set offensively. And Joseph said the inside duo was more than ready.

‘They knew what to expect, and Yancy is definitely a better — not to take anything away from Cooley — but Gates is a better offensive player and more of a threat to us down low,’ Joseph said. ‘Had they played like that on Saturday, it might have been a different turnout.’

Though Christmas sneaked quickly out of the locker room following Monday’s win, avoiding most of the media in the process, it was undeniably his best game in an Orange uniform. Christmas had to be the man against the Bearcats for Syracuse to win.

And put simply, he was.

Said Keita: ‘Rak, I give him a lot of credit tonight.’

mjcohe02@syr.edu

Published on January 23, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13