Jerami Grant has seen Syracuse get manhandled on the boards too many times this season. Entering Saturday, the Orange ranked second to last in the Atlantic Coast Conference in rebounds.

Most recently, Pittsburgh nearly rode an 11-rebound edge to a win.

On Saturday, North Carolina State’s front line could have potentially posed a similar problem. Big men Jordan Vandenberg and Kyle Washington were active around the basket in the first half, but Grant and Syracuse contained them in the second half en route to a 56-55 win over the Wolfpack.

Grant finished with 12 points and a career-high 14 boards, guiding the Orange to victory.

“Me and (Christmas) both wanted to come and rebound and not allow them any second-chance points,” Grant said.

For the most part, they were successful. Syracuse outrebounded N.C. State by one and held down an area that could have been problematic in the contest.

Midway through the first half, he altered Lennard Freeman’s shot and snagged the rebound on one end, and put back a Trevor Cooney miss on the other.

When the Orange’s offense was particularly stagnant to start the second frame, Grant kept SU within striking distance. He hit two free throws and converted a layup off the glass to keep Syracuse afloat in the first seven minutes of the second half.

Grant’s skinny frame made containing the bulkier Washington difficult, but Grant held his own. His scoring was timely and his rebounding was consistent.

“At halftime we just said we need to start getting more rebounds,” Christmas said, “and that’s what we started doing in the second half.”

Grant altered N.C. State players’ shots with his length, as the long arms NBA scouts have noticed were especially disruptive on Saturday night.

And in the closing moments of the game, Grant’s long arms helped keep Syracuse undefeated. He and Cooney trapped Anthony Barber in the corner, leaving Barber nowhere to go.

He should have simply held on to the ball, but he panicked and passed. Christmas intercepted it and tossed it to Tyler Ennis, who fed Fair in stride for the game-winner.

Even when Syracuse’s offense isn’t cooking, its length is always there. Grant made sure N.C. State was rattled all night.

Said Fair: “Jerami’s done a good job being active.”

Published on February 16, 2014 at 1:56 am

Contact Trevor: tbhass@syr.edu | @TrevorHass