DURHAM, N.C. — Baye Moussa Keita officially made his return on Wednesday against Boston College, but he was closer to being his normal self during No. 1 Syracuse’s 66-60 loss to Duke on Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The center only played two minutes in the loss to the Eagles and didn’t post any stats. Against the No. 5 Blue Devils, Keita played 20 minutes and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, including eight on the offensive end.

With Rakeem Christmas in foul trouble — both of SU’s capable centers had four before the midway point of the second half — Syracuse had to rely on a platoon in the paint, and Keita answered the call.

“I’ve been moving pretty good,” Keita said. “Tonight was one of those nights.”

Keita and Christmas combined to play 37 minutes, leaving Jerami Grant to play only three in the middle of the zone. Both centers were forced to play conservatively down the stretch, which helped Duke score 16 points in the paint in the second half, but Keita showed signs of progress as he continues to recover from a sprained right knee.

He was still weighed down by a clunky brace, but said right now he feels “no pain.” He attempted a dunk late in the second half, but was stuffed by the rim and even though he grabbed eight offensive rebounds, he scored only four points on 2-of-6 shooting.

“Baye was spectacular,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said.

Keita’s contributions were especially important in the first half, when he grabbed eight of his rebounds in 14 minutes of action. Christmas was limited to just six minutes due to foul trouble. He picked up his second with 7:59 left in the half and remained on the bench until the break.

Keita only got six more minutes the rest of the way, but his offensive rebounding and defense helped the Orange fight to a 26-26 tie with the Blue Devils at halftime despite a 28.6-percent shooting frame.

“The brace was slowing me down a little bit, but I was still able to manage it,” Keita said. “I’m getting my speed back. It’s going to be difficult with the brace on, but I think I’m getting 100 percent.”

Published on February 23, 2014 at 12:00 pm

Contact David: dbwilson@syr.edu | @DBWilson2