Syracuse University
Virginia Tech
1/31/2004 9:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Box Score
Coach Boeheim Quotes
Syracuse Player Quotes
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Sophomore guard #Gerry McNamara#'s 26 points helped the #20/22 Orangemen (14-3, 4-2) snap its two-game losing streak with a 76-64 triumpth against Virginia Tech (8-10,1-6) at the Carrier Dome on Saturday, Jan. 31.
McNamara hit 7-of-17 shots from the floor, including six three-pointers, and was 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. He passed Jason Hart and Adrian Autry for sixth on SU's three-point field goals made list and has 141 career triples. He is 20-for-20 from charity stripe in BIG EAST Conference competition this season.
Freshman #Demetris Nichols# made his first start of the season and had a career game, scoring a personal-best 12 points and grabbing a career-high eight rebounds in 27 minutes of action.
The SU defense took control of the game early, holding the Hokies to just two field goals in the first 11:05. The Orangemen built a 25-6 lead during that stretch. McNamara and junior #Hakim Warrick# tallied eight points each during the run. Two free-throws by Bryant Matthews and layup by Jamon Gordon made the score 25-10 with 9:32 left to play in the first half. SU took its largest lead of game, 37-14, on two free-throws by McNamara at 7:22 and the Orangemen held a 44-26 edge at the break. Syracuse made 17-of-27 field goals in the period (63 percent) and held Matthews, the conference's leading scorer at 24 points per game, to just seven in the first frame.
Virginia Tech climbed back into the game in the second half. With the Orange ahead 51-31 at the 17:34 mark, the Hokies put together a 14-0 run to cut SU's margin to six, 51-45 at 13:28. Matthews notched six points in the scoring spurt, but SU responded with a 12-2 run of its own to reclaim a 16-point advantage with 8:45 left on the clock. The Hokies got within ten points on two occassions the rest of the way, but couldn't overtake the Orange.
Warrick added 15 points, seven rebounds and a career-best seven assists. Junior #Josh Pace# contributed 12 points and a tied his season-high with six assists. Senior #Jeremy McNeil# scored seven points of the bench and recorded his first two assists of the year.
After shooting 27.3 percent against Pittsburgh, the Orangemen made 30-of-57 field-goal attempts versus Virginia Tech (52.6 percent). SU also held a 40-30 edge in the reboundng.
Gordon paced the Hokies with 21 points and Matthews chipped in 18 points and a team-best five rebounds.
The Orangemen were without regular guard #Billy Edelin# who dressed but did not play. According to Coach Jim Boeheim, Edelin, who missed the week of practice leading up to the Virginia Tech game was out because of "personal issues not related to basketball or academics."
Syracuse will travel to Storrs, Conn. on Monday, Feb. 2 for a matchup with the eighth-ranked Huskies. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m. and the game will be televised live on ESPN with Dan Shulman and Dick Vitale calling the action. Â
