PITTSBURGH — With one flick of his wrist, C.J. Fair could forget all the missed layups. All the shots that rimmed out and the “air ball” chants that followed him through the first half and into the second.

With Syracuse down six and less than two minutes remaining, Fair got a pair of baseline screens from Jerami Grant and Rakeem Christmas, and an open look in the left corner. Last time he let one fly from beyond the arc, it wasn’t even close. This time it cut Pittsburgh’s lead to three with 1:42 remaining.

“I seen the opportunity for the 3 and I’m just confident enough to make it and knock it down,” Fair said.

After starting off 3-for-11, Fair made his final three shots, including the 3-pointer and a step-back jumper on the No. 1 Orange’s next possession, to help SU (24-0, 11-0 Atlantic Coast) rally from a six-point deficit in the final moments and set the stage for Tyler Ennis’ game-winning 35-footer that handed Syracuse a 58-56 win against the No. 25 Panthers (20-5, 8-4) on Wednesday in front of 12,935 in the Petersen Events Center.

For, essentially, the first 35 minutes, Fair was nonexistent, and Ennis stole the show in the final seconds, but without the senior forward the freshman’s miracle shot never happens.

“C.J. had to hit the 3, he had to hit the jump shot and Tyler had to get to the basket and had to make the free throws,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. “There were three had-to-dos on offense.”

And Fair was the key to two of them.

The Orange went to Fair for the 3-pointer in the corner even though his only long-range attempt of the day failed to hit anything.

On Syracuse’s next possession, it went straight to Fair again. This time, the Orange didn’t draw anything up — Fair just went to work on his man. A quick jab step and then a move to his right. He crossed back over, stepped back and let fly.

Five points in a matter of seconds. SU cut the lead to one.

“C.J.’s somebody we can count on at the end of games,” Ennis said. “He definitely closes games for us.”

For most of the day, though, he looked like the last guy that Syracuse would want to go to when it needed a bucket.

He sunk a mid-range jumper in the opening minutes for the first points of the game. He air-balled his next shot — a free-throw-line jumper — and could never get into a groove after that.

Every time he touched the ball for the rest of the first half — even when he was on the sideline getting ready to inbound and after he made a couple shots — chants of “air ball!” rained down from the Oakland Zoo.

But, somehow, he still managed to be the Orange’s leading scorer in the game.

“I think C.J. is underrated,” Grant said. “He’s one of the best players in the country and every time we get to the end-of-the-game situations he comes through for us.”

The Orange has plenty of options on offense, but Ennis compared Fair to Creighton forward Doug McDermott in terms of scoring ability. Yes, Fair struggled, but there’s a reason Boeheim always chooses to go back to him.

“C.J.’s definitely right behind,” Ennis said. “Versatility-wise, he can score outside, inside.”

Even on the final play, with 4.4 seconds to go, Boeheim wanted to get the ball in the hands of his star — even if it meant that Grant needed to chuck the ball 60 feet to him.

Instead, Grant opted to make the easy pass to Ennis. Boeheim told Grant that he made the wrong decision, but Ennis’ miracle made that obsolete.

No one can be sure if Boeheim’s play would have worked now. It would have been just as improbable if Fair had gotten it to go, but the dependable veteran knows how it would’ve gone.

“It wasn’t there,” Fair said, “but I probably could’ve still made the play.”

Published on February 13, 2014 at 1:33 am

Contact David: dbwilson@syr.edu | @DBWilson2