C.J. Fair darted down the lane. Left alone as Long Beach State doubled Syracuse center DaJuan Coleman, Fair cut to the hoop and drew a foul 19 seconds into the game.

The Syracuse forward stepped to the free-throw line, took the ball and knocked down his first shot. He stayed at the line, received the ball again and drained his second attempt.

“The way I shot them, I felt it was going to be a nice little day for me,” Fair said.

Fair’s feeling proved to be right as he finished with team-high 16 points and career-high 13 rebounds in Syracuse’s 84-53 win over Long Beach State at the Carrier Dome on Thursday night. On a day when five Orange players scored in double figures, Fair generated his own offense on the glass and set the tone with his active play around the rim.

After leading the team with 17 points against San Diego State in the season opener, Fair struggled to find his rhythm in the next five games. The forward said he came out focused on getting into a groove early on Thursday. It translated into a standout performance in yet another dominant victory over a nonconference opponent.

“C.J. was really good,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. “I should have started with that. He was the best he’s played all year. He was really on the boards aggressively and I thought he did a really good job.”

Nineteen seconds into the game, Fair found his rhythm and confidence with his cut to the basket and trip to the foul line. The opening sequence encapsulated Fair’s performance the rest of the night. He was aggressive, and he finished his opportunities.

Fair grabbed his first offensive rebound on SU’s second possession, cleaning up on the glass for his first field goal following misses by Rakeem Christmas and Coleman. The Orange was off and running behind Fair, who scored 10 of the team’s first 20 points.

He was there for the offensive rebound after Michael Carter-Williams failed to finish a lob at the rim. He stuck with the play after his follow missed and finished at the rim to put SU up 16-4.

His putback slam as the half wound down gave Syracuse a 44-26 advantage, and brought his totals to 12 points and eight rebounds. Only one field goal came off an assist, and six points came following offensive boards.

Fair was leading the charge with hustle plays as his teammates operated within the offense.

“Sometimes a play’s not going to be ran for you so you got to find other ways to get the ball in the basket,” Fair said. “So today I was just active on the offensive glass and that got me a few easy points.”

Coming out of the break, Fair showed his range with his third 3-pointer of the season. The forward sat behind the arc as Carter-Williams sliced into the lane. The point guard found him wide open, and Fair said he felt in rhythm – just as he did on the free throws to open the game.

Fair held his follow through for a moment as the ball swished through the net, and SU’s lead grew to 20. Less than a minute later, he rose up in the paint to corral another offensive rebound, drew a foul and hit one of two free throws.

“As you can see, nobody can check him when he gets that rebound and go back up,” Coleman said. “He’s either going to get fouled or make the basket so that definitely helps us out a lot.”

A little more than four minutes later, after adding his 12th and 13th rebounds, Fair’s night was done.

More than 13 minutes remained and Syracuse was well on its way to victory with a 25-point lead. Fair shined in a game where the Orange rode a balanced effort to the easy win.

And it all started 19 seconds into the game with a pair of free throws.

“Today I felt my rhythm early,” Fair said. “I think I was active on the offensive and defensive glass and a couple balls fell my way and I was able to get to them.”

Published on December 7, 2012 at 12:47 am

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu