WASHINGTON — The shot clock had cracked 10 seconds and the 19,801 fans in the Verizon Center — half clad in orange, the other in yellow, rose. This was the moment.
If Marquette, trailing by 11 points with just under 2 1/2 minutes left, was going to have any chance at a miracle, the Golden Eagles had to hold. The ball went to the Bayside Bomber, James Southerland III, in the corner and he rose up for Syracuse.
When a rainbow 3-pointer, the one Southerland learned at the Cross Island YMCA, flicked the bottom of the net, Syracuse was on its way to a 55-39 win and a berth in the Final Four. There was one problem — his mother, Magalie, never saw the shot.
“I was praying,’’ she told The Post. “I get too nervous to watch. That’s why I have to tape all the games.’’
There were six games the Southerlands didn’t tape, the six when their son was ineligible while Syracuse investigated if he had plagiarized a term paper. A university review determined Southerland had done no wrong.
His five 3-pointers in the first half against Seton Hall in Syracuse’s first game in the Big East Tournament saved the Orange, coach Jim Boeheim said.
The 3-pointer he hit with 2:23 left yesterday gave Syracuse a 50-36 lead.
“That was the dagger,’’ said Southerland’s father, James Southerland. “It’s so much sweeter after what he’s been through. This was the icing on the cake.
“No, the icing on the cake will be the national championship.’’
The Orange will face the winner of today’s Michigan-Florida game in the Final Four. Southerland, who was named to the All-East Region team, finished with a game-high 16 points on 3-of-9 shooting on 3-pointers.
While his mom was praying, Southerland doesn’t believe he needs any divine intervention.
“Yeah, I knew it was going in,’’ he said. “I think all my shots are going in, I make that shot a lot in practice. Every shot I take feels good, so I don’t think anything’s gonna miss.’’