Syracuse 76, Virginia Tech 64
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 1/31/04
Syracuse, NY -- Syracuse built a huge lead, weathered a run by the Hokies, and then pulled away at the end for a 12-point win in the Carrier Dome. The loss, Tech's fifth in a row and seventh in their last eight games, drops Tech to 8-10 overall, 1-6 in the Big East.
Midway through this game, the Hokies went on a 31-14 run. The problem was, it came after a horrid start that saw VT trailing 37-14 with 7:22 to go in the first half. Despite missing leading scorer Billy Edelin, who is out indefinitely due to personal reasons, the Orangemen (14-3, 4-2) shredded the Hokies, with shooting guard Gerry McNamara leading the way. McNamara hit three 3-pointers as SU built their 37-14 lead, and he wound up with six 3-pointers and 26 points for the game.
After McNamara hit a jumper to put SU up 35-14, Tech coach Seth Greenberg picked up a technical foul. McNamara hit both free throws to give SU the 37-14 lead, and the Hokies went on a 33-16 run that spanned half time to close the gap to 53-47 with 12:40 to go.
Unfortunately for Tech, Syracuse went on a 10-0 over the next four minutes, pushing the lead back to 63-47 with 8:40 to go, and the Hokies were done.
Greenberg expressed great displeasure with the Hokies in his post-game comments to the Tech radio network. While he commended the efforts of Jamon Gordon (team-high 21 points, 3 steals), Bryant Matthews (18 points, team-high 5 rebounds), and Bryan Randall (career-high 8 points, 5 rebounds, team-high 4 steals), he implied that the rest of the team "didn't come to compete." He pledged to play the players who compete the hardest, "whether they're on scholarship or not."
The Hokies will return to Cassell Coliseum to take on Providence (14-3, 5-1 Big East), next Wednesday at 7 p.m. Providence, winners of six in a row, are led by Ryan Gomes (19.6 points per game), the third-leading scorer in the Big East.
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Syracuse 76, Virginia Tech 64
1/31/04, Syracuse, NY
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Syracuse...................... 44 32 76
Virginia Tech................. 26 38 64
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VIRGINIA TECH (8-10, 1-6)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
B Matthews 39 6-12 6-9 4-5 2 5 18
P McCandies 13 2-4 1-2 0-0 0 2 5
Z Dowdell 33 1-8 0-0 0-2 2 1 2
J Gordon 39 9-17 1-1 0-1 3 3 21
M Sailes 21 1-4 0-0 1-2 4 0 3
B Randall 26 3-6 0-0 1-5 1 4 8
A Calloway 18 2-5 0-2 0-3 0 0 4
C Collins 11 1-5 1-2 1-4 0 0 3
_____________________________________________________
TOTALS 200 25-61 9-16 7-22 12 15 64
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Percentages: FG-.410, FT-.563. 3-Point Goals:
5-20, .250 (B Matthews 0-2, Z Dowdell 0-4, J
Gordon 2-7, M Sailes 1-3, B Randall 2-4).
Team Rebounds: 8. Blocked Shots: 1 (C
Collins). Turnovers: 14 (B Matthews 5, Z
Dowdell 3, M Sailes 2, A Calloway, P
McCandies, J Gordon, B Randall). Steals: 14
(B Randall 4, C Collins 3, Z Dowdell 3, J
Gordon 3, P McCandies).
SYRACUSE (14-3, 4-2)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
H Warrick 40 7-9 1-2 0-7 7 3 15
D Nichols 27 5-8 0-0 3-8 1 4 12
C Forth 17 1-1 0-0 2-5 0 2 2
G McNamara 39 7-17 6-6 1-3 5 2 26
J Pace 33 6-11 0-1 1-2 6 1 12
A Kouwe 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
R Herron 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
T Roberts 1 0-3 0-0 1-2 0 1 0
J McNeil 20 3-3 1-4 2-5 2 3 7
L McCroskey 21 1-5 0-1 0-5 1 1 2
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TOTALS 200 30-57 8-14 10-37 22 17 76
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Percentages: FG-.526, FT-.571. 3-Point Goals:
8-20, .400 (D Nichols 2-4, G McNamara 6-14, L
McCroskey 0-2). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked
Shots: 10 (C Forth 4, J Pace 2, L McCroskey
2, J McNeil, H Warrick). Turnovers: 19 (G
McNamara 6, H Warrick 5, L McCroskey 4, C
Forth 3, D Nichols). Steals: 8 (H Warrick 3,
G McNamara 3, C Forth, L McCroskey).
Technical fouls: Virginia Tech 1 ( Bench). A:
25,862. Officials: John Hughes, Robert Donato,
William Bush
2003-2004 Men's Basketball Schedule/Results