Coming of its lowest scoring output since 1968, the Syracuse men’s basketball team wanted to come out firing against Virginia Tech.

Not only did the Orangemen succeed in hoisting up shots, they hit them. No. 20 Syracuse shot 53 percent, including 63 percent in the first half, to defeat Virginia Tech, 76-64, at the Carrier Dome on Saturday.

Syracuse never trailed, jumping out to a 9-0 lead in the first four minutes. Gerry McNamara, who started at point guard with Billy Edelin out, poured in 26 points, including six 3-pointers.

Hakim Warrick, who was double-teamed every time he touched the ball, still managed 15 points. It was Tech’s constant harassment of Warrick that led to open shots. Facing a double-team, Warrick often found an open Orangeman on the perimeter. Warrick finished with seven assists, his highest total of the season.

‘They were double-teaming Hak from the center position and the guard position,’ forward Josh Pace said. ‘If the man goes to double, whoever’s man that is, they’re getting easy shots. When teams do that, we have to make them pay for it.’

SU’s sharp shooting allowed it to jump out to a 44-26 halftime lead. The Orangemen (14-3, 4-2 Big East) went on runs of nine and 13 points within the first 10 minutes, which included a couple McNamara 3s and some rim-rattling dunks by Warrick and center Jeremy McNeil.

Big East leading scorer Bryant Matthews was held to seven points in the first half. He finished with a quiet 18 before fouling out with less than a minute left. Virginia Tech (8-10, 1-6) had trouble adjusting to SU’s 2-3 zone until the second half. Syracuse jumped out to a 23-point lead with seven minutes to go in the first half.

Then, Syracuse, which finished with 20 turnovers, got sloppy. Tech converted a number of SU turnovers in the second half into fast-break baskets. Freshman Jamon Gordon, who led the furious Tech comeback, finished with 21 points.

The Hokies cut the lead to as little as six points with 12 minutes remaining, but a 10-0 SU run put the game out of reach.

Demetris Nichols, making his first start as an Orangeman, replaced Edelin and scored 12 points, including the first two baskets of the game. Pace also had 12 points. Overall, four Orangemen scored in double figures. It marked the 10th time this year that at least four SU players have scored in double figures.

The effort was in stark contrast to when Syracuse shot 27 percent against Pittsburgh Jan. 24. A week ago, Warrick seemed the only capable SU threat. On Saturday, he mainly served as a decoy by passing out of double-teams, even though he scored 15 points, pulled seven boards, and dished out seven assists.

‘They doubled every time,’ Warrick said. ‘They really tried to make me work for everything.’

But while Tech’s game plan was to harass Warrick on the block, the Hokies compromised their perimeter defense, and Syracuse was able to take advantage after shooting a combined 35 percent in its last two losses.

‘We needed this win,’ Pace said, ‘no matter if it was Virginia Tech or Cornell or anybody. We needed a win. Going into the (Connecticut) game, you don’t want to go in there with three losses under our belt.’

Published on February 1, 2004 at 12:00 pm