Dajuan Coleman attacked the basket as he rolled off a screen. He corralled a pass from Malachi Richardson and went up with the ball, flashing an offense that’s been absent against top competition this season.

He made the shot, got fouled and walked boldly back to the bench for the media timeout, accidentally knocking into a North Carolina player that stood in his way.

“I was just fired up today,” Coleman said.

The junior center finished with five points, seven rebounds, two assists and a block in Syracuse’s (10-7, 0-4 Atlantic Coast) 84-73 loss to No. 6 North Carolina (15-2, 4-0) on Saturday in the Carrier Dome. His most important stat, though, was the season-high 27 minutes he logged.

He’s come out in the first four minutes of almost every game this season, but on Saturday, he lasted for the first 7:32. He said after the game that he “wasn’t even thinking about” the knee issues that have sidelined him for the better part of the last two seasons.

“We needed some more size out there, SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. “He did some good things.”

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MORE COVERAGE: 

• Syracuse falters down the stretch, again, in Jim Boeheim’s return against No. 6 North Carolina
• Trevor Cooney shines and Michael Gbinije shrinks in Syracuse’s 84-73 loss to No. 6 North Carolina
• Fast reaction: 3 takeaways from Syracuse’s 84-73 loss to North Carolina

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On the first play of the second half Joel Berry II took the ball strong to the basket, but his shot met Coleman’s palm as he swatted it out of the air. It was a ferocity from Coleman that has shown flashes this season, but never sustained throughout a game.

He’d played 20 minutes or more just four times this season, with the loss to Georgetown being the only really close and hard-fought game. On Saturday, he went up against a frontcourt that is a big part of the reason why 61 percent of its scoring comes from inside the arc, per Kenpom.com.

“We know we have it,” Coleman said. “We just want to win.”

Published on January 10, 2016 at 12:53 am

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3