PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Jonny Flynn thought he was letting everybody in on a little secret when he tried to explain why Syracuse lost Wednesday night. ‘Nobody will probably come out and say it, but I think (fatigue) was definitely a factor at the end of the game,’ Flynn said.He was right about one thing: Fatigue certainly was a factor in the Orange’s 100-94 loss to Providence. But Flynn was wrong about something else. He wasn’t the only one who would come out and say it. The fact that the Orange was tired by the end of the game turned out to be no secret at all.’I was really a little bit tired, winded,’ Harris said. ‘That’s going to happen. It was a fast-paced game. We were coming in knowing this team scores a lot of points.’The Orange played Wednesday without shooting guard Andy Rautins, while center Arinze Onuaku saw limited action. Rautins did not travel to Providence after suffering a sprained right ankle in Sunday’s loss to Louisville. Onuaku tried to play despite a sore right knee, but was too injured to contribute and spent much of the second half on the bench. Onuaku hobbled through 15 minutes, battling the knee injury that threatened to keep him out altogether. When he was in, Onuaku was unable to jump and could not contest any shots on defense or maintain position inside on offense. He did not take a shot and grabbed one rebound. ‘I was glad to see him try, but he’s sore, and he couldn’t jump,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘I probably should not have left him in. He thought he might be able to get going, but he couldn’t jump. It would have been better to have left him home, probably.’The injuries left Syracuse with six healthy scholarship players, including freshman Kris Joseph and senior Kristof Ongenaet, who had averaged less than four minutes in the Orange’s previous four games. Heading into the night, the duo combined to average 5.8 points per game. Yet both had to start against Providence.Ongenaet had six points in 16 minutes Wednesday; Joseph had four points in 21 minutes. After the game, Boeheim said Joseph ‘is not ready yet for these games.’With little help, guards Jonny Flynn and Eric Devendorf were responsible for carrying the Syracuse offense. The starting backcourt combined to score 62 points, including a career-high 35 by Flynn. Both played the entire game until Devendorf fouled out with three seconds remaining.As well as Flynn and Devendorf played on offense, it was not enough to make up for the rest of the lineup. ‘I told Jonny and Eric before the game they were going to have to be in the neighborhood of 20 points to 30 apiece for us to have a chance to win,’ Boeheim said. ‘It was going to be a high-scoring game, and without Arinze and Andy, we’re not going to get very many points from the other guys that are out there.’Syracuse’s lack of depth showcased itself perhaps even more on the defensive end. After holding the Friars to 45 percent shooting in the first half with an active and aggressive 2-3 zone, it was unable to contain Providence’s offense after halftime. The Friars shot 18-of-27 in the second half (66.7 percent), including 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) from 3-point range, at times seeming unstoppable. Though the discrepancy was never greater than 11, whenever the Orange cut into the deficit, a Providence player hit a key shot to quickly build the lead back up.The Orange players looked especially tired on defense in the second half, appearing unable to rotate fast enough in the zone to reach the Friars’ shooters. When Providence took control of the game, Syracuse tried to move to man-on-man and press full-court – a near impossibility with almost no subs. ‘We weren’t moving, and we were giving them a lot of open shots, and they were hitting,’ Harris said.After the game, Boeheim offered no timetable for the injured players’ returns. But there is some good news: The Orange doesn’t play until next Wednesday against West Virginia, and the week-long break could not come at a better time.’It should be good,’ Onuaku said. ‘Just resting and treatment. It should be a good week.’

jediamon@syr.edu