Looming above the pack, Paul Harris hopped on a locker room bench and captured the scene with a small, hand-held camcorder.

‘Andy Rautins engulfed,’ Harris shouted, his voice deep despite his 33 minutes of action, ‘as the result of a career-high.’

Members of the media flocked to Rautins Monday night, eager to dish about his career-high 29 points and the school record he tied. The shooting guard drained nine three-pointers in No. 17 Syracuse’s 82-71 win over Coppin State Monday at the Carrier Dome, tying a mark held by Orange legend Gerry McNamara. Rautins’ outburst relieved a weary Syracuse (12-1) team that left most of its legs in Memphis, after from Saturday’s 72-65 win over the Tigers.

Monday’s game completed a stretch and five games in 10 days, but helped Syracuse complete its most-successful non-conference slate since 2004. Syracuse has eight days off before it open the Big East slate at home against Seton Hall on Dec. 30. Three days later, the team swings south to face South Florida.

The break is undoubtedly needed, as SU showed signs of fatigue Monday night. The Orange turned the ball over 22 times and let Coppin State (1-8) nail open shots in the second half. Guard Tywain McKee gunned his way to a game-high 31 points.

But Rautins’ 3’s made the difference, keying a crucial 19-6 run late in the second half as Syracuse pulled away. He hit his ninth with 5:37 remaining, tying a mark McNamara set on March 18, 2004 against Brigham Young in the NCAA Tournament.

McNamara scored 43 that night. Monday, Rautins only managed 29. But it was enough to bring the Orange closer to a win and bring the crowd of 17,244 to its feet after the record-tying shot. They chanted his name. They begged him to shoot again (he did, and missed).

With the Eagles burrowing inside to stop the Orange big men, Rautins had free range to shoot. He made the best of it, shooting 9-for-16 from outside. The shooting guard added five rebounds and six assists to his stat line on this highlight-reel night, a breakout game for a player who had been shooting just 30.8 percent from beyond the arc this season.

‘It felt good,’ Rautins said. ‘They played a pretty passive zone defense. They were leaving me open.’

The Orange overpowered the Eagles inside (front-line starters Harris, Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson all finished in double figures) and Rautins scorched them from the outside. But lapses in the mostly man-to-man defense kept things close.

‘We just didn’t have defensive intensity,’ head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘And you’re not going to stop people when you don’t.’

Led by McKee, the Eagles had cut the Syracuse advantage to 61-57 with 8:33 remaining. But after a Harris lay-up, Rautins went off. He drilled three three-pointers in a row, then watched as the Orange added eight more points inside. The lead swelled to 17, and Coppin State was out of it.

The 22 Syracuse turnovers kept the Eagles alive. So did CSU’s 16 offensive rebounds. The Orange held the lead throughout the game Monday, but didn’t pull away until late, as Rautins kept draining threes.

Syracuse needed him. Usual stand-out Jonny Flynn mostly looked burned-out, having played 40 minutes against Memphis. Flynn played another 40 against the Eagles, scratching out 10 points and 10 assists. He was 2-for-9 from the floor and turned the ball over five times.

‘He didn’t have his legs tonight like he usually does,’ Boeheim said.

So it was up to Rautins.

After the game, Paul Harris gushed about his shooting guard. He called him ‘Sharpshooter Andy,’ ‘Big Game Andy.’ He said Rautins looked like he was at practice. He said the hoop looked as wide as the ocean.

Rautins downplayed his hot streak: ‘Another day in the office,’ he said.

Boeheim simply dismissed it, and attributed it to Coppin State’s zone defense. Big East teams don’t usually play zone, don’t give up open looks like the Eagles did.

‘He’s never going to get those shots again,’ Boeheim said.

‘Ever. Period.’

So, despite the record, Rautins remains a work-in-progress. He has plenty of people around to remind him that.

When Rautins checked his phone after the game, he had a message from his father Leo, the former Orange star and Team Canada head coach:

Great job. Get home and shovel the sidewalk.

Said Rautins: ‘That’s just the old man trying to be funny.’

ramccull@syr.edu

Published on December 30, 2008 at 12:00 pm