The stage was set last night for Gerry McNamara to proclaim his shooting slump over for good. He was coming off his best performance since injuring his left groin at Seton Hall. The opponent and place – Notre Dame and the Carrier Dome – meant thousands of denizens of Scranton, Pa., McNamara’s hometown, would be in attendance.

And the Syracuse men’s basketball team was playing Notre Dame, McNamara’s favorite opponent judging by past numbers.

Though McNamara scored 20 points, he couldn’t complete the perfect scene. To score 20, he hoisted 23 shots and made only seven. He finished 3 of 15 from beyond the 3-point arc, including 0 of 5 in the first half.

‘It was just one of those games,’ McNamara said. ‘I took a lot of shots I normally wouldn’t when we were trying to come back at the end.’

The night, in contrast to most of his game, started off well for McNamara. He scored SU’s first five points, the first two on a pretty elbow fadeaway and the next three on a trio of free throws he shot after being fouled shooting a 3-pointer.

After that, he plummeted back to Earth. He finished the first half 1-of-9 shooting. That, coupled with Hakim Warrick’s 2-for-8 performance in the first half, spelled doom for SU.

‘When Gerry and Hakim shoot 3-for-17 (in the first half), we’re going to be in a big hole,’ Boeheim said. ‘That’s what happened.’

Back in action

Louie McCroskey was happy to play more. He just wasn’t happy with the end result.

McCroskey, a freshman who was used as SU’s unofficial sixth man for a stretch of five games this season before seeing his court time dwindle, played 25 minutes – his season high – against Notre Dame and scored nine points. He was SU’s only solid scoring option other than Warrick and McNamara.

‘It was kind of bittersweet for me,’ McCroskey said. ‘Overall, I think I did well. But it’s harder to swallow when you lose. It’s tougher to swallow a loss if you play, because you feel responsible.’

McCroskey, who shot 4-of-9 and pulled down five rebounds to go with his nine points, shouldn’t feel he’s too responsible for the loss. He did, though, foul out of the game, but two of his fouls came when SU had to foul to stop the clock at the end of the game.

This and that

Sophomore guard Billy Edelin did not play for the third straight game and fifth time this season. He’s out for personal reasons. … The Orangemen wore throwback jerseys of the Sherman Douglas and Derrick Coleman days. The vintage jersies were worn from the 1989-90 season to 1992-93. Syracuse wore the retro uniforms as part of a Nike promotion for select teams. … The game was part of ESPN’s Big Monday telecast. … With the win, Notre Dame snapped a five-game losing streak to SU. … With 12:42 left in the first half, McNamara used an inhaler on the court while Warrick took a pair of free throws.

Published on February 16, 2004 at 12:00 pm