Boston College
Syracuse*
Men's Basketball Falls To No. 17 Syracuse, 96-73
January 10, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Jan 10, 2004
By JOHN KEKIS
AP Sports Writer
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Gerry McNamara scored 13 points in less than 5 minutes to stop a late Boston College rally and lead No. 17 Syracuse to a 96-73 victory on Saturday.
It was the 664th win for Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, tying him with former UCLA mentor John Wooden for 18th on the all-time list, and the 11th straight victory for the Orangemen (11-1, 2-0 Big East).
McNamara, who hit six 3-pointers, had seven assists and finished with 26 points. Hakim Warrick had 19 points, Billy Edelin had 17 points and six assists, and Josh Pace had 14 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Craig Smith led Boston College (11-3, 1-1) with 27 points and nine rebounds, while Jared Dudley was 11-for-11 from the foul line and finished with 15 points. Sean Marshall added 15 points for the Eagles and Uka Agbai had 12.
Syracuse shot 70.4 percent in the first half and Warrick's dunk in the opening minute of the second half gave the Orange what appeared to be a commanding 51-29 lead.
But Smith scored eight points and Marshall drained two 3-pointers to lead the Eagles back. Marshall's second 3 pulled BC to 61-55 midway through the period, and when McNamara missed from the top of the key and misfired on a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions the Eagles seemed poised to continue their impressive comeback.
Then, just like that, all hope vanished. McNamara exploded for three 3-pointers and hit a long jumper off a screen by Warrick in less than 3 minutes, giving the Orangemen a commanding 82-61 lead with 4:25 left.
The game was on the verge of becoming a rout after Syracuse held the Eagles scoreless for 7:07 during a 21-0 first-half run.
Smith got the ball repeatedly inside and scored 10 points as the Eagles matched the Orangemen shot for shot in the opening minutes. But after his rebound basket at 10:22 tied the game at 19, the Orangemen stepped up the defensive intensity and BC didn't' score again until Steve Hailey hit two free throws with 3:15 left.
BC began the game 7-of-14 from the field, then shot 3-for-13 over the final 11 minutes of the first half as the Orangemen switched defenses, nabbing seven steals and getting six blocked six shots in building a 49-29 halftime lead.
