SAN JOSE, Calif. — Brandon Triche was lost in the nation’s capital.

He was alone in the visitor’s locker room of the Verizon Center, surrounded by nothing but missed shots. The worst shooting slump of his career had shifted his attitude from befuddled to sarcastic to fed up.

The confusion was replaced by jokes, which were replaced by frustration.

Two weeks removed from a humbling loss to Georgetown in Washington, D.C., Triche has resurrected himself at the most important time of the season. He scored a game-high 20 points in Thursday’s 81-34 drubbing of No. 13-seed Montana, putting together his most efficient performance since Jan. 19 against Louisville. At a point in time when the No. 4-seed Orange needs a senior leader, Triche appears ready to take that role by the horns.

“He played good,” Syracuse forward C.J. Fair said. “He played active on defense. He got a couple easy baskets to get his offense going, and then once he started scoring he started creating for other teammates and stuff. He looked great out there.”

Triche swished home his first shot of the game — a 3-pointer from the right corner — to give Syracuse an 11-3 lead and ignite the confidence that eluded him for so long. Triche was both economical and aggressive against the Grizzlies, which is a rare combination, and needed only six field goal attempts to reach 20 points.

He penetrated when the lane was open, passed when it wasn’t, and the result was 10 free-throw attempts, eight of which he converted.

“He’s being more aggressive, I think, off the bounce,” Syracuse assistant coach Gerry McNamara said. “There were times, I thought, where he settled for some jump shots that he didn’t need to take. When he plays assertive and breaks people down and is able to get in the paint, he’s really difficult to stop.”

Triche chipped in four assists and four steals Thursday, influencing the game without forcing his hand. The result is a different set of body language than was on display in late February and early March, with less doubt and more self-belief.

He even snagged a pass from Jerami Grant with one hand on a ball that was slightly behind him, calmly regaining possession and converting a floater in one smooth motion.

Put simply, it was Triche’s night.

“I shot the ball pretty well,” he said. “But teammates gave me the ball to score. I was pretty active on defense, so I got a few steals and that kind of helped me get going.”

His defense fueled offense, creating chances to slice to the rim in transition. He picked off a pass by Mike Weisner and streaked to the rim to draw a foul. Less than two minutes later he ran the floor with backcourt-partner Michael Carter-Williams, where he was the recipient of a dish that put him in position to go to the free-throw line again.

During his slump, which lasted from Feb. 2 to March 9 with a couple of bright spots in between, Triche hoisted 3-pointer after 3-pointer in an attempt to shoot his way out of the rut.

But on Thursday he didn’t force anything and allowed the game to come to him. He attempted only two 3-pointers all night, swishing both without coming close to hitting the rim, and the result was the type of game finally worthy of the NBA-draft-pick praise that Boeheim has heaped on him throughout the season.

“He looked great tonight,” Carter-Williams said. “He was aggressive, he made smart plays, he was great defensively, he was active. That’s how we’re going to need him to play to go far in this tournament.”

Triche was so dominant so fast that at one point — the 16:19 mark of the second half — his second 3-pointer of the game pushed his individual point total ahead of the entire Montana team’s. He had scored 18 points to the Grizzlies’ 17.

So on the way back to the locker room he laughed and smiled, joking with teammate James Southerland in the hallway of HP Pavilion. Triche was finally back to his old self in time for the stretch run of his senior season.

“His game kind of blossoms when he gets some easy ones and sees the ball going in the basket,” McNamara said. “He’s a whole different animal when he sees it go in.”

Published on March 22, 2013 at 3:23 am

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13