Anthony's 33 Points Propels Syracuse Into National Title Game

Saturday, April 5

New Orleans, LA

approx. 8:37 p.m. EST

Syracuse University

vs. Texas <br>(NCAA Semifinals)

Anthony's 33 Points Propels Syracuse Into National Title Game

4/6/2003 12:35:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score
Syracuse Coach and Player Quotes

NEW ORLEANS - National Freshman of the Year #Carmelo Anthony# scored a career-high 33 points on 12-of-19 shooting, and added 14 rebounds to lift Syracuse to a 95-84 win against Texas in the NCAA Semifinals. The third-seeded Orangemen will take on No. 2-seed Kansas for the national title on Monday, April 7 at 9:00 p.m. in New Orleans' Superdome.

This marks Syracuse's third appearance in the NCAA title game. SU has never won the title, losing to Kentucky in the 1996 championship, and to Indiana in 1987. Both head coaches in the matchup, Syracuse's #Jim Boeheim# and Kansas' Roy Williams, are seeking their first national title.

Anthony (www.suathletics.com/carmelo) was joined by three teammates who scored in double figures. Freshman #Gerry McNamara# finished with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including three baskets from beyond the arc. He also dished out four assists and had four steals. Sophomore #Hakim Warrick# scored 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, grabbed seven rebounds and recorded four assists. Sophomore #Josh Pace# recorded his second-highest point total of his career with 12 off the bench on 5-of-6 shooting. As a team, the Orange made 57.1 percent (32-of-56) of their shots from the field, and 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from three-point range.

Anthony's 33-point outburst set an NCAA tournament standard as the most points scored by a freshman in a Final Four game. It also broke the Syracuse freshman record for single-game scoring, previously held by Lawrence Moten who had 32 points in a Jan. 18, 1992 game against Pittsburgh.

The Orangemen overcame a balanced Longhorn attack in Saturday's win. Five Texas players finished with double-digits in the scoring clumn, and Naismith Award-winner T.J. Ford recorded a double-double with 12 points and 13 assists. SU's defense held the Longhorns to 42.9 percent (27-of-63) percent shooting and forced 14 turnovers.

Warrick scored SU's first six points to give the Orange an early 6-3 lead. Brandon Mouton, who finished with a team-high 25 points for Texas, scored the first 10 points for the Longhorns, and 15 of their first 17. Syracuse took its largest lead of the first half, 21-12, with 13:11 on the clock when McNamara hit his second three-pointer of the game. Mouton cut SU's edge to seven before Pace regained Syracuse's nine-point advantage with his second basket of the evening.

Before 11 minutes had ticked off the clock, Mouton had 18 points, but Syracuse held the 28-24 lead. Anthony extended the edge by three when he hit from the outside with 9:01 remaining. Buckman took over the scoring duties for the Longhorns, netting 11 points over the last nine minutes of the half. Mouton's last basket of the period pulled Texas to within two, 44-42, with 2:12 left on the clock, but Anthony's 16 first-half points helped secure a 48-45 halftime edge for the Orange.

Texas took its first lead of the game less than a minute out of the lockerrooms, 49-48, after Ford scored four points to open the second session. Anthony netted SU's first 11 points of the period, making all four of his field goal attempts, including a trifecta, and a pair of free throws. At the end of Anthony's streak, Syracuse was clinging to a 59-56 lead with 13:07 to play. James Thomas converted a layup and Mouton made one of his five three-point baskets to give Texas a two-point edge, 61-59. Warrick and Pace followed by each connecting on a pair of free throws, and McNamara sank his third trifecta, and Syracuse took the lead for good, 66-61, with just under 11 minutes to play. The Orangemen pushed their lead to 12, 78-66, after Anthony scored back-to-back baskets at the 6:54 mark. Pace capped the game with a breakaway dunk in the final seconds to give SU the 95-84 decision.

Syracuse meets Kansas for the fourth time in program history. The Jayhawks hold a 2-1 edge in the series. The last time the two clubs met was in the 2001 NCAA Tournament when Kansas ousted the Orangemen in the second round with an 87-58 win. SU's only win against the Jayhawks came in the 1996 West Region final, a 60-57 decision.