Syracuse University
St. John's
SU Wins Conference Opener Versus St. John's, 65-59
1/10/2004 4:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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SYRACUSE, NY -- Sophomore guard #Gerry McNamara# tallied a game-high 23 points, including 16 in the second half, to lead #17/19 Syracuse (10-1, 1-0) past St. John's (4-7, 0-1), 65-59, in the BIG EAST Conference opener for both squads. The win was the 10th straight for the Orangemen.
McNamara hit 6-of-15 shots from the floor, including three three-pointers. He was also 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. It marked the fifth consecutive game he has hit at least three treys.
SU fought off a late St. John's rally to earn the win. Trailing by 13 points with 7:43 remaining, the Red Storm reeled off an 11-3 run keyed by six points from Andre Stanley. McNamara answered with a three to give SU an eight-point cushion. The Red Storm got within five points again, 64-59 on a three-point basket by Kyle Cuffe with 28 seconds left, but could not overtake the Orangemen.
Both teams began the game shooting well from the field with SU making its first four field goal attempts and St. John's hitting its first three as the Orangemen took an early 8-7 lead. The Red Storm put together an 8-1 run to build a six-point margin, 17-11, with 14:07 left in the first half. Daryll Hill had six points for St. John's in the burst, but McNamara drilled a three to end the streak and two field goals each from juniors #Hakim Warrick# and #Josh Pace# sliced the St. John's advantage to 23-22 at 9:36. With the game notted at 26, SU closed the half on 6-0 run to take a 32-26 lead at the break.
In the second half, a jumper by Pace at the 14:26 mark gave SU a 10-point edge and the Orangemen took their biggest lead of the contest when McNamara was fouled shooting a triple. He drained all three foul shots to give SU a 53-40 lead at 8:59.
Warrick contributed 18 points and 11 rebounds and sophomore #Billy Edelin# had 13 points to help the Syracuse cause. Junior #Craig Forth# grabbed 11 rebounds, one short of his career high, and and also tallied six blocks.
St. John's was led by Grady Reynolds, who posted 13 points and 13 rebounds. Kyle Cuffe and Daryll Hill added 12 points each. The Red Storm bench outscored SU's 16-0, with Stanley and Lamont Hamilton notching eight points apiece.
The Orange defense held St. John's leading scorer Elijah Ingram to three points on just one field goal. He entered the contest averaging 13.9 points per outing
It was the fourth straight conference opening victory for SU. The Orangemen are 18-7 all-time in BIG EAST openers and 10-4 when they open the league slate at home.
The triumph was head coach Jim Boeheim's 663rd at Syracuse, one behind legendary UCLA coach John Wooden, who is 19th all-time on the Division I wins list. Boeheim also ranks eighth in Division I wins at one school.
Syracuse hosts Boston College on Saturday, January 10, at 2:00 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.Â
