NEW YORK – Demetris Nichols‘ struggles Friday night were Louie McCroskey‘s gains.

When Nichols struggled in the first half for the Syracuse men’s basketball team in its 77-62 win over Memphis in the final of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, SU head coach Jim Boeheim turned to another sophomore – McCroskey – for a spark off the bench.

McCroskey played 11 first-half minutes, scoring seven points, including one 3-pointer. McCroskey played 16 of 20 minutes in the second half but failed to score. He also picked up two offensive charges.

In the first half with the game tied at 21, McCroskey went to the free-throw line and connected on both of his tries. On the next Syracuse possession just 32 seconds later, the sophomore drained a 3-pointer to give Syracuse a five-point lead.

The 27 minutes was just one shy of McCroskey’s career high, which he established last season against Georgetown.

‘We’ve got so much scoring for the most part,’ McCroskey said, ‘you’ve just got to fit in where you can. In the first half, I got a bunch of open shots.’

SU senior Hakim Warrick said that when you look at stats from last year, the games when McCroskey and fellow sophomore Demetris Nichols chipped in with close to 10 points and substantial minutes, Syracuse won.

‘It’s big when they come in and produce like that,’ Warrick said.

For the second straight night, Syracuse struggled tremendously on the boards, especially in the second half. For the game, Syracuse actually outrebounded Memphis, 36-30.

But Memphis dominated the Orange on the offensive boards, winning that battle, 14-9. Memphis had just two less offensive rebounds than defensive rebounds.

Thursday, Mississippi State caused SU fits, coming up with 22 offensive rebounds. Last night, though, Syracuse repeatedly struggled to clear the ball out of the zone, especially in the second half.

Part of the problem lies in Syracuse’s zone defense, which sometimes slows players from boxing out the opponent.

‘It’s a concern,’ Warrick said. ‘We want to go out and work on that. We’ve got to do a better job going after the ball.’

While the atmosphere the past two nights has been nothing like the Carrier Dome, Syracuse has clearly been the crowd favorite.

Orange shirts have filled the seats at Madison Square Garden and the cheering has been overwhelmingly pro-Syracuse. Though the crowds have been small – 5,008 Thursday night and 5,119 Friday night – Syracuse players noticed the difference.

Lucky for the Orange, it visits Madison Square Garden again Dec. 7 to face Oklahoma State in the Jimmy V Classic and Jan. 5 to face St. John’s.

‘They gave us a lot of support and we fed off it,’ Warrick said, ‘especially during the second half.’

Warrick won the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Most Valuable Player award and Gerry McNamara made the All-Tournament team. Joining the two on the All-Tournament teams are Saint Mary’s Daniel Kickert, Mississippi State’s Lawrence Roberts and Memphis’ Rodney Carney.

For the past two games, Warrick’s flashed some new shoes – the new Carmelo Anthony model. The light blue clashed noticeably with Warrick’s Orange jersey. ‘I went out and got them,’ Warrick said. ‘Gotta support my man.’ … SU fans distaste for embattled head football coach Paul Pasqualoni carried over to New York. One fan held a sign reading ‘Fire Pasqualoni.’ … McNamara and Warrick failed to connect on three alley-oop dunks. Each time McNamara threw the pass, Warrick wasn’t close enough to the basket to complete the play… For the second straight night, Warrick made a spectacular ball fake. This time he palmed the ball and completed a one-handed windmill.

Published on November 19, 2004 at 12:00 pm