BLACKSBURG, Va. — The most consistent scene from Syracuse’s win at Virginia Tech Saturday afternoon was Tyler Roberson clutching a loose rebound away from an opponent.

In 30 minutes of the Orange’s (10-4, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) 68-66 win over the Hokies (8-6, 0-1) at Cassell Coliseum, Roberson snagged 17 boards and finished with 11 points for the third double-double of his career. Syracuse struggled to close out VT and Roberson was part of those late-game struggles, but without him a narrow victory might have turned into an embarrassing defeat for the Orange.

“I thought he was a difference-maker for us,” Jim Boeheim said of the sophomore forward.

SU could have further exploited the Hokies’ foul trouble in the first half. And in the second, the Orange could’ve done a better job feeding Rakeem Christmas and picking on the same foul-troubled VT bigs.

But throughout the whole game Roberson cleaned up the glass on both sides of the floor. He had five defensive and five offensive rebounds in the first half and four defensive and three offensive boards in the second.

“I think it’s the little hustle plays that win games and I think that’s what I try to put in and help personally to help the team out,” Roberson said.

He went on to play the most minutes he’s had since he got 33 in the Orange’s 71-69 win against Louisiana Tech on Dec. 14. He had a career-high 17 rebounds in that game, too. The 17 he snagged on Saturday were more than the 14 he recorded in the four games since.

The sophomore’s play against the Hokies was consistent, but also timely. He did slip with the ball in his hands to give Justin Bibbs an easy steal with 6:12 left in the game and SU leading by just two.

But he responded by hitting a jumper, grabbing four rebounds and going 3-for-4 from the free-throw line in the rest of the game.

Said SU guard Trevor Cooney: “He was a game-changer.”

Published on January 3, 2015 at 5:31 pm

Contact Jacob: jmklinge@syr.edu | @Jacob_Klinger_