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McNamara Leads Orange Past Saints, 97-77
12/1/2005 10:15:39 AM | Basketball
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SYRACUSE, NY -- Senior guard Gerry McNamara canned a season-high six three pointers, tallied 22 points overall and dished out nine assists to lead Syracuse (4-2) past Siena (0-2), 96-77, at the Carrier Dome on Friday night. The Orange also received a double-double from junior forward Demetris Nichols (14 points-10 rebounds) and got double-digit scoring from Terrence Roberts (18 points) and Darryl Watkins (10 points) in front of 18,447.
Siena's Antoine Jordan had a game-high 29 points and five assists and Kojo Mensah contributed 14 points and seven assists.
The victory halted a modest two-game losing streak for Syracuse. Back-to-back losses to Florida and Bucknell marked the first time in program history the Orange had lost consecutive games in November.
Visiting Siena jumped out 8-2 on the Orange. Freshman Eric Devendorf, making his first career start, helped SU rebound with a three and two free throws. McNamara followed with a three to put the 'Cuse up 10-8 and the Orange never trailed again.
SU extended an 18-13 edge to 34-19 during one stretch, thanks in part to a three from freshman Andy Rautins and a Roberts dunk. The Saints shaved the lead back to five, 34-29, but the Orange got consecutive threes from McNamara and Nichols. SU led at the break, 52-37, and McNamara already had 13 points and six assists. The outburst represented the club's top point total for one half this season.
The Saints narrowed the gap in the second half to 10, 60-50, with 13:35 left after Jordan converted two free throws. It was as close as Siena would get. McNamara thwarted the rally with one of his six threes.
Ten players saw action for the Orange and all 10 scored and grabbed at least one rebound. Nichols earned his second double-double of the campaign and all 10 boards came at the defensive end. Watkins had all 10 of his points after the intermission and Roberts tallied 12 in the second half. One of the top reserve efforts came from sophomore Josh Wright who accumulated a career-high eight assists and had five points and three steals.
McNamara moved into 13th on the school's career scoring list, passing Dave Johnson.
