MEMPHIS, Tenn. – When the buzzer sounded Saturday night, Jonny Flynn made a beeline to the area behind Syracuse’s bench, scanning the crowd for two middle-aged men in suits.

He was looking for a pair of loud hecklers who had been sitting in the front row, shouting at him the entire night. Even in a raucous crowd of 17,091 at FedExForum, everyone in the building could hear those two calling the Orange’s point guard a ‘dummy’ – among other things – all game long.

So after the clock struck zero on No. 11 Syracuse’s impressive 72-65 victory over No. 23 Memphis, Flynn finally had the chance to fight back.

But the two fans were already gone. They left with 35 seconds remaining, just as Flynn put the final two free throws on his game-high 24-point performance in a statement win for the Orange (11-1).

As he trudged up the stairs, one jeerer looked back to the floor defeated and begrudgingly screamed, ‘Good game, Jonny.’

‘I wanted to look at them, give them a little wink and say, ‘I don’t hear you now,” Flynn said.

By that point, he had a right to boast. Flynn battled through a hip injury he suffered Wednesday night against Canisius, visibly wincing and grimacing from the pain throughout the second half, but showing no ill effects. Despite being considered a game-time decision heading into the contest, Flynn gave his grittiest outing of the year against a ranked team in a hostile environment.

Saturday also may have been the Orange’s best defensive effort of the season. Playing a 2-3 zone all night, Syracuse held the Tigers (6-3) to 7-of-33 (21.2 percent) from 3-point range. After the game, Flynn said the defense, not his own play, was the difference.

But, despite what he says, Flynn was the difference. Even though the Orange displayed strong defense, Syracuse still allowed 19 offensive rebounds and shot a dismal 12-of-26 (46.2 percent) from the free-throw line, including several key misses down the stretch.

Flynn shot 9-of-17 from the field, led the Orange with six assists and grabbed four rebounds. Regardless of his injury, Flynn played all 40 minutes and led SU to a win in its first true road game of the season.

Syracuse needed its star guard even more Saturday, because it was the team’s first game without Eric Devendorf. On Friday, an SU appeals board suspended the shooting guard indefinitely for allegedly striking a female student on Nov. 1, requiring Devendorf to complete 40 hours of community service before he can be reinstated.

Even with the injury, Flynn consistently drove to the basket and was knocked hard to the ground several times. Each time, he limped to the free-throw line or back on defense, trying to force a smile through the pain.

‘Jonny Flynn, this was his biggest night,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘He’s struggled a little bit the last couple of games, and tonight he stepped up early and kept us in there and made a couple big plays.’

In the locker room after the game, Flynn said he was about ’80 percent’ to start the night, but evidence suggested otherwise. Flynn said he was unable to walk or put much pressure on his hip a few days ago and spent the last four days receiving extensive treatment from athletic trainer Brad Pike.

The pain was still insufferable Friday, and Flynn did not practice with his teammates, instead shooting cautiously on the side. Forward Paul Harris, Flynn’s roommate on the road, said Pike was in their hotel room working on Flynn at 2 a.m. Saturday morning.

Nevertheless, Flynn shook off the notion he was a game-time decision, saying there was never any doubt he would play against the Tigers.

‘I read the Memphis paper today, and it was saying I was questionable to play tonight, but I never said nothing to anybody,’ Flynn said. ‘I guess it was just building up the hype for the game.’

Whatever it was, Flynn again exceeded the hype, like he always seems to on national stages.

It was a showing by Flynn Syracuse fans have grown accustomed to in his short collegiate career. A month ago, he was named MVP of the CBE Tournament after leading SU to wins over Florida and Kansas. This time, Flynn’s play led to the Orange’s third win in as many tries against top-25 opponents this season.

‘Jonny was just being himself, stepping up in the big occasions,’ said SU guard Andy Rautins. ‘This was just another example of that.’

jediamon@syr.edu

Published on December 28, 2008 at 12:00 pm