BLACKSBURG, Va. — He can never do it quietly.

He can make all the rudimentary mid-range jump shots he wants and still spend time on the bench with fouls — it doesn’t matter. C.J. Fair’s going to get his, and that usually includes at least one highlight-reel play.

On Tuesday it was simple enough. The forward ran the floor and took a cross-court feed from Tyler Ennis. He flushed down an emphatic slam in transition behind the Virginia Tech defense. Two points.

“There were some plays where they knew exactly where I was going,” Fair said. “They beat me to the spot.”

The dunk wasn’t one of them.

Fair started slow during No. 2 Syracuse’s 72-52 win against the Hokies on Tuesday, but still managed to finish with a game-high 17 points. It was just another workmanlike performance for the Orange’s (15-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast) always-steady superstar. There was the flashy play, but most of his night in Blacksburg, Va., was spent methodically dissecting the VT (8-6, 1-1) defense for another strong performance for the 4,367 inside Cassell Coliseum to see.

It was just another clinic from the C.J. Fair school of midrange shooting. Once he finds his rhythm he’s virtually unstoppable. He sunk a pair of his signature jump shots as SU embarked on a 16-0 run and helped Syracuse ice the victory in the waning minutes with a couple more.

“We capitalized and had some good offensive possessions,” head coach Jim Boeheim said. “C.J. got going during that stretch in the second half. We got him some good looks on the side baseline. That’s where he’s difficult to play against.”

The forward’s first half, however, was atypical. He struggled to find his rhythm — slow starts have become a bit of a recurring theme for the senior — and found his way to the bench with two fouls before he could pick things up.

With Rakeem Christmas, often Syracuse’s primary screen-setter, in foul trouble, the Orange struggled to get Fair open looks. He entered halftime with just five points and the Orange led by just six.

That changed in the second half.

“We know he’s going to make them if we get him open,” Ennis said. “We just have to set better screens and find ways to get him in those spots.”

Of course, Fair has to make his plays, too. Midway through the second half, Fair had a midrange jumper blocked. Moments later, he got the ball back and used a pump fake to get a clean look.

He used the same move to get one of his few good looks in the first half and came back to what worked to grab another bucket late in the game.

It was a slow start, but Boeheim’s halftime words resonated with the forward. He told Fair they were going to get him the ball as much as possible — he just had to not do too much.

Twelve points. No turnovers. Everything that Boeheim asked of him, Fair delivered.

Boeheim didn’t call Fair the difference — he pointed to big plays by Ennis and Jerami Grant, too — but he knew the senior would be a critical component to a successful second half for SU. The offense was his.

Said Fair: “He basically said, ‘We’re going to keep moving the ball until you get open.’”

Published on January 8, 2014 at 9:20 am

Contact David: dbwilson@syr.edu | @DBWilson2