MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The first two extended the lead, providing Syracuse with an eight-point, second-half comfort zone. The third put the game away, pushing SU’s advantage to 13 with five minutes left.

And the fourth time Gerry McNamara lobbed an alley-oop — this one into the hands of a soaring Carmelo Anthony — it dotted the exclamation point on a 94-80 Syracuse men’s basketball win Saturday over West Virginia in front of 13,092 at the West Virginia Coliseum.

By the time Anthony converted SU’s fourth alley-oop, everyone had forgotten that midway through the first half, No. 19 Syracuse (16-3, 7-2 Big East) trailed by as many as 15. But by shooting 58 percent and having five players score in double figures, the Orangemen pulled off a 29-point turnaround.

“We’re not going to come and shoot like this all the time,” SU forward Hakim Warrick said. “But today, our shooting carried us most of the way.”

Warrick finished with 18 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Anthony, the Orangemen’s other starting forward, had a game-high 29 and shot 12 of 17.

Both benefited from a 1-3-1 West Virginia defense that crumbled. Syracuse’s 59 percent first-half shooting, including 4 of 12 from 3-point range, prevented the Mountaineers from collapsing on Anthony and Warrick.

“That leaves some easy shots,” SU guard Kueth Duany said. “They’re more vulnerable, and you can just attack them deep.”

Anthony, free of a double-team, struck most, recording his highest Big East point total. He and Warrick each converted two alley-oops from McNamara, who finished with a season-high 12 assists.

“I just put it up toward the backboard for Hakim and at the top of the backboard for Carmelo,” McNamara said. “It’s fun to watch. We’re fortunate to have such athletic guys who can get up there and slam it down.”

McNamara mostly played shooting guard, because point guard Billy Edelin played a reliable 38 minutes. He scored a season-high 18 points and hit his first six shots before finishing 8 of 11.

The freshman point guard also helped spread the ball to the Orangemen’s two forwards, collecting three assists. In the first half, he drove to the basket through open lanes, sometimes finishing with a layup and other times dishing to Warrick for easy dunks.

“He’s going to find the open guy,” McNamara said. “That’s why I love playing with him. He creates for other people. He makes other people better.”

“He’s back,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. “It’s a good game for him to be in. He got a lot of good looks. He finishes as well as anyone we’ve had going to the basket since Sherman Douglas. When he gets in the lane, he makes that shot. It isn’t always pretty, but the ball ends up where it’s supposed to end up.”

Edelin quarterbacked an often small Syracuse lineup. SU centers played just 14 combined minutes — starter Craig Forth played a season-low three — as Syracuse moved Duany to small forward with Edelin and McNamara as the backcourt.

But a big lineup that included Jeremy McNeil at center helped Syracuse overcome a 31-16 deficit with 11:33 remaining in the first half. Thanks in part to McNeil guarding the paint when Syracuse pressed, the Orangemen shut down the Mountaineers (12-8, 3-5) and outscored WVU, 30-16, the rest of the half.

After an 8-1 SU run started the second half, the Mountaineers never recovered. West Virginia shot only 37 percent in the second half compared to 47 percent in the first 20 minutes.

Sophomore Drew Schifino led West Virginia with 25 points and freshman Kevin Pittsnogle added 24. But their combined 19-of-40 shooting failed to overcome five Orangemen — Anthony, Warrick, Duany, McNamara and Edelin — in double figures.

Seven times this season, Syracuse has had five players hit the double-digit mark, and each time, the Orangemen have won.

“With the great teams, we’ve had that,” Boeheim said. “In college basketball, the more balanced you are, the better chance you have. The question becomes: Who do you stop?”

Published on February 8, 2003 at 12:00 pm