ALBANY – For Siena’s Michael Haddix, the frustration had been building all afternoon. The Saints’ leading scorer had repeatedly been engulfed in the paint by the Syracuse men’s basketball team’s 2-3 zone.

After reacting calmly to each of his four turnovers, he finally looked like his frustrations might boil over. Late in the second half, after a missed shot, he nearly took it all out with one huge punch to the pole of a Pepsi Arena basket.

Fortunately for the junior, he stopped himself. Unfortunately for Haddix, SU’s defense never relented in the Orange’s 78-56 victory over the Saints on Saturday.

‘We did a good job defensively the whole game,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘We did a good job making Haddix take tough shots.’

The 6-foot-6 Haddix still led Siena with 15 points but repeatedly struggled to get position down low. The Orange used bigger players in its zone to body Haddix and force bad shots. Haddix, who had zero assists this season, also struggled to pass out of double teams and find open teammates.

The only defensive problem Syracuse experienced was slowing Saints guard Tay Fisher. The freshman reserve nailed four 3-pointers, including three in the first half. But after halftime, the Orange seemed to lock down on Fisher.

Overall, Siena shot just 32 percent for the game compared to 47 percent for Syracuse. Siena managed just two points in the game’s first 5:16 before finally settling in and finding a rhythm.

Boeheim said with SU’s sloppy play, Siena’s poor shooting played a major difference in the game.

‘We’re big,’ Boeheim said. ‘We’ve got some big guys who really made it difficult for them.’

Guard Gerry McNamara, who paced the Orange offensively with 29 points, also led the way on the defensive end. He finished with three steals and made it difficult for Siena’s guards to drop the ball down low.

Two McNamara plays stuck out. Early in the second half, the junior chased down a Saints player going in for a layup and made a clean foul, preventing an easy score.

Then a few minutes later, he chased another Saint all the way down court before cleanly breaking up the play and preventing a score. Both times, he landed in the crowd, momentarily frightening teammates before popping up.

‘I scared (my teammates) more than anything,’ McNamara said. ‘They probably thought I was going to hurt myself. I’m just trying not to let (an opponent) get an easy layup, but to be clean about it.’

While McNamara and other Orange defenders clamped down on the Saints, Siena players and coaches complained repeatedly throughout the game about fouls called on Siena players.

Siena committed 23 personal fouls while the Orange committed 17. Especially in the first half, though, it seemed like a referee blew a whistle nearly every time SU had the ball. Meanwhile, Syracuse players got away with aggressive defensive play. When the referees finally began calling fouls on the Orange, the crowd gave mock cheers.

‘They foul a lot,’ Boeheim said. ‘They play very physical. (Referees) could’ve called more fouls than were called.’

Published on November 29, 2004 at 12:00 pm