Brandon Triche had a team-high 18 points and added four rebounds and four assists as Syracuse got its 30th win of the season with a 58-49 win over Louisville.
But after his stellar performance, Triche had a momentary loss of memory.
“I can’t remember the last game I had double figures,” Triche said. “[I] haven’t made a group of shots in a long time.”
It was Jan. 28 against West Virginia, to be exact.
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Seven games and more than a month had gone by since that game, which happened to also be an 18 point performance.
During that period of time, Triche had averaged just 5.4 points, including 2-for-12 shooting from downtown. His season average has dropped to 9.4 points per game, down from 11.1 a game last year.
But on Saturday afternoon, Triche snapped out of his funk, shooting 5-for-10 from the field, and 3-for-6 from beyond the arc.
“Things just haven’t gone exactly right in some games,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said.
Some small adjustments made the difference on Saturday.
“I was just focusing in and didn’t move as much in the air,” Triche said. “Today, they were falling.”
Especially at the start of the second half.
Triche sandwiched a layup between a pair of 3s out of halftime. His personal 8-0 run turned a 26-19 lead into a 34-19 lead, removing any possibility of an upset on Senior Day.
“He ignited us offensively,” guard Scoop Jardine said. “That’s what he’s supposed to do.”
And that is exactly what he did.
“Pretty cool to make shots,” Triche said. “My team was looking for me and I was able to make shots for them.”
He’ll need to make a few more if Syracuse wants to achieve its goals.
“It was an awesome regular season, but we’re thinking about the postseason,” Triche said. “Everything is going to be on (the NCAA) tournament. If we do well, the season is going to look (good). If we don’t do well, it’s going to be disappointing.”
Corey Mallonee contributed to this article with reporting from Syracuse
