Syracuse University
BYU
McNamara Shoots SU into the Second Round
3/18/2004 6:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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Coach Boeheim Quotes
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DENVER, Colo. -- Sophomore #Gerry McNamara# set the SU record for points in an NCAA Tournament game with a personal-best 43 markers in the fifth-seeded Orangemen's (22-7) first-round tournament triumph, 80-75, against No. 12 seed BYU (21-9) on Thursday at the Pepsi Center.
McNamara was 11-of-17 from the field, including a school-record nine three-pointers. He also set career highs for free-throws made and attempted, going 12-for-16 from the charity stripe. He shattered SU's 57-year-old record for points in a tournament contest held by Gary Clark, who tallied 34 against Lafayette on March 15, 1957. McNamara broke the program standard of eight three's, which he shared with Preston Shumpert. McNamara connected on eight triples in the 2003-04 season-opener versus Charlotte and Shumpert knocked down eight treys against Albany and Connecticut in 2001. McNamara also passed Todd Burgan for fourth on SU's career three-point field goals list. He now has 184 career triples.
McNamara's career day marked the first time an Orangemen has scored 43 points in a game since Bill Smith set the SU single-game scoring record with 47 against Lafayette on January 14, 197. His point total ties him with Dave Bing for fourth on the Orangemen's single-game scoring list. Bing tallied 43 points against Buffalo on December 4, 1965.
McNamara's performance also tied him with three players for the third-most three's in a tournament game. Loyola Marymount's Jeff Fryer holds the tournament mark for three's in a single contest with 11 against Michigan in 1990. UNLV'S Freddie Banks made 10 treys against Indiana in 1987. McNamara tallied 28 points in the first frame against the Cougars, three points shy of the SU record for points in a half held by Adrian Autry, who tallied 31 in the second period against Missouri in the 1994 NCAA Tournament. McNamara scored 28 points in the second half against Charlotte earlier this season.
The victory was the 675th for SU head coach #Jim Boeheim#. It ties him with former Louisville mentor Denny Crum for 18th on the NCAA Division I coaches' all-time wins list. It also ties him with Crum for seventh on the Division I all-time list for victories by a coach at one school (675). Boeheim ranks seventh in NCAA Tournament wins with 39 and is 20-3 in first-round tournament encounters.
The Orangemen used an 18-7 run during the final 5:24 of the first half to overcome an 11-point deficit and tie the game, 42-42, at the intermission. With the Cougars ahead, 31-24, and 7:01 left in the first period, BYU's Rafael Araujo hit back-to-back layups to give BYU its largest lead of the game at 35-24, but McNamara tallied 13 of SU's 18 points as the Orange rallied to knot the score.
The two teams were tied, 50-50, with 15:47 left in the contest when SU went on a 12-6 run to take a six-point advantage at 12:44. A layup by junior #Hakim Warrick# capped the stretch and Warrick scored SU's next seven points all on free throws as the Orangemen extended its lead to 69-60 at the 8:29 mark. The Cougars tallied the next six points to trim SU's margin to three, 69-66. After a dunk by junior #Craig Forth#, BYU's Mark Bigelow hit a three to pull the Cougars within two, 71-69. A free throw by McNamara pushed SU's lead to three, but two free throws by Bigelow and a dunk by Araujo gave BYU a 73-72 edge with 3:22 left. The Orange regained the lead on a layup by Warrick, and McNamara's final three gave SU a 77-73 advantage at the 2:14 mark. The Orangemen's defense only allowed one more BYU field goal and McNamara made three free throws in the final 17 seconds to preserve the win.
Warrick finished with 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting. He also made 8-of-9 free throws. Freshman #Demetris Nichols# contributed 10 points in his first-ever NCAA Tournament game. Forth paced SU with six rebounds.
Syracuse connected on 11-of-16 three-pointers (.688), the highest three-point shooting perecentage for an SU squad in a tournament contest, breaking the record of .615 (8-of-13) set against Montana State in 1996. The Orangemen finished 24-of-46 from the floor (.522). BYU made 26-of-55 field goal attempts (.473) and was 10-of-26 from long distance (.385).
Araujo paced the Cougars with 24 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Bigelow and Mike Hall each added 17 points and Luiz Lemes scored 12.
Syracuse is 6-0 all-time against BYU.
The Orangemen will square off against 2001-02 national champion Maryland on Saturday, March 20 in the second round of the tournament. The Terrapins advanced by beating UTEP, 86-83, on Thursday. Maryland and Syracuse have not battled on the hardwood since the 1980 Carrier Classic. Maryland won that pairing, 83-73. Saturday's game will either be at 3:40 MT (5:40 EST) or 6:10 MT (8:10 EST) on CBS.
