Syracuse basketball 2014-15: Syracuse vs Wake Forest

Syracuse's Rakeem Christmas dunks during the first half of a game against Wake Forest on Jan. 13, 2015, at the Carrier Dome.

(Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com)

Syracuse, N.Y. — A lot of outstanding centers have played for Jim Boeheim in his 39 years as the head coach of the Syracuse Orange.

The list includes Roosevelt Bouie, Etan Thomas, Rony Seikaly and Danny Schayes. None of them ever scored more than Rakeem Christmas did on Tuesday night.

Christmas, Syracuse's senior center, scored a career-high 35 points in Syracuse's 86-83 overtime win over Wake Forest at the Carrier Dome. Christmas made 13 of his 21 field-goal attempts and went 9-for-12 at the free-throw line.

Only 13 players in Syracuse history have scored more than 35 points in a game. None of them were centers in the Jim Boeheim era.

Here is a look at the highest-scoring games for centers who played for Boeheim:

35—Rakeem Christmas vs. Wake Forest (Jan. 13, 2015)

34—Otis Hill at Alabama (Jan. 11, 1997)

33—Dan Schayes at Detroit (Dec. 10, 1980)

33—Rony Seikaly vs. Florida (March 19, 1987)

33—Rony Seikaly vs. Michigan (Jan. 31, 1988)

30—Roosevelt Bouie vs. Temple (Jan. 30, 1980)

26—Etan Thomas vs. Quinnipiac (Dec. 1, 1998)

23—Arinze Onuaku vs. St. John's (Jan. 1, 2008)

Other Syracuse centers including Fab Melo, Daryl Watkins, Craig Forth, Conrad McRae and LeRon Ellis never scored more than 21 points in a game.

Derrick Coleman only started at center in his junior year. In that season, his high game was 23, which he reached twice against Louisiana Tech and Kentucky State. Coleman's career high was 29 as a senior, but LeRon Ellis started at center that year.

The last SU center to score more than Christmas' 35 points was Bill Smith when he scored 47 points against Lafayette in the 1970-71 season. Smith's 47-point performance remains Syracuse's all-time school record for most points in a game.

Christmas scored eight points in the overtime period against Wake Forest, but his 27 points in regulation would still rank among the top performances for a Syracuse center over the past 40 years.