Published: March 01, 2008 11:57 pm      

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Harris shoulders blame for Syracuse collapse

SYRACUSE — It’s one of the forgotten highlights from Paul Harris’ celebrated high school basketball career, the sole sour note in the One Shining Moment montage from Niagara Falls’ run to the 2005 state championship.

Harris missed a late dunk that would’ve won the only game Niagara Falls lost that season. In a television interview after the game, the Wolverines’ star held himself accountable for the loss, which likely cost Western New York another national title, this one mythical.

Saturday at the Carrier Dome, Harris once again took a burden on his broad shoulders, after the team he now stars for, Syracuse, collapsed down the stretch in an 82-77 loss to Pittsburgh.

“It was one particular play that lost the game, and it was my play,” Harris said.

The Orange led by 11 with under four minutes to play, but found themselves trailing 78-77 with 8.8 seconds left after Harris was stripped under his own basket by Pittsburgh’s Sam Young, who fed a behind-the-back pass to Keith Benjamin for an easy layup.

“It was crazy,” said Young, who led Pitt with 19 points. “I can’t believe it myself. My instincts told me to go get it, and when Harris turned around, the ball fell right in my lap.”

Harris said he was waiting for one of the Panthers to foul him.

“I should have been stronger with the ball,” said Harris, who finished with 18 points, six steals, six of Syracuse’s 18 turnovers, and only two rebounds. “I put it all on me.”

He could share the blame if he wished.

The Orange (17-12, 7-9 Big East) were out-scored 18-2 after Niagara Falls’ Jonny Flynn hit his sixth 3-pointer of the game and Harris found Arinze Onuaku for a dunk that had a crowd of 26,632 smelling victory with 3:49 left.

Pittsburgh (21-8, 9-7) responded by scoring nine straight points to get within a basket with 2:03 left. After Flynn hit a runner in the lane, Pitt’s Gilbert Brown buried a long three to make it 77-76 and set the stage for a stunning finish.

In the frantic final minute, Flynn missed a rushed three as the shot clock was about to expire and Pitt’s Gilbert Brown missed a baseline jumper that deflected out of bounds to set up Young’s critical steal.

Syracuse had one last chance, but Scoop Jardine missed a baseline jumper from the right corner — the only shot he took in eight minutes of action — with just under five seconds left. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim was then called for a technical foul after running on the court and protesting what he thought had been a foul on Harris and Levance Fields made four free throws with 1.5 seconds to finish the comeback.

Harris said afterward, “there wasn’t a foul.”

“In the last 32 years, I’ve never been involved in a game, a bigger game, where our team has played better in every phase of the game, except turning the ball over,” said a dejected Boeheim, who gave a brief statement afterward, didn’t field any questions, and left. “The whole game we just kept making bad decisions and bad turnovers. At the end, we got the ball to Paul and he gave them the ball. There’s nothing more you can say. It was the most disappointing game I’ve ever been involved with.”

The loss put Syracuse in serious jeopardy of missing the NCAA tournament for the second straight season, and wasted wonderful performances from Flynn and fellow freshman Donte Greene, who broke out of a shooting slump to score 23 points.

“Everybody saw it. We cracked under pressure,” said Flynn, who matched a career-high with 28 points, and, like Harris, played all 40 minutes. “It was time to step up and show how we can play. We just didn’t do it. To blow an 11-point lead with three minutes to go is really unheard of.

“We looked like boys compared to men out there.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.