It came with 13:47 remaining in the second half. Desperately trying to get open, Gerry McNamara hustled around a Josh Pace screen and caught the ball. He wasn’t really open, but it didn’t matter. With two defenders draped over him, McNamara hoisted a 3 – the one that broke SU’s all-time 3-point record.

It wasn’t a game-winning dagger like the one he delivered to Georgetown last season, but it proved crucial, propelling the Orange to a 78-73 overtime win over the Hoyas in the Carrier Dome last night.

‘I wasn’t worried about that,’ McNamara said of the record. ‘I figured I had a little time to break it.’

McNamara’s 251st career 3-pointer eclipsed former Orange Preston Shumpert’s mark of 249, a mark Shumpert set from 1999-2002. It took him a few more attempts – McNamara did it in 683 attempts while Shumpert did it in 659 – but the 2004-2005 Orange is glad he made it just the same.

The 3 gave Syracuse a 45-44 lead, and with overtime lurking, the Orange needed every point it could get. ‘(McNamara’s) a special player,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘He gets in position and he had a couple hard 3s tonight.’

After the record-setting shot, McNamara pumped his fist and yelled to the crowd, but it wasn’t because he was ecstatic about the record. McNamara said he didn’t realize he broke it until it was announced.

‘I didn’t even think about it,’ McNamara said. ‘It was in the paper and I didn’t even know about it.’

The crowd erupted with a standing ovation and GER-RY chants that lasted for the next several possessions.

‘That’s a great accomplishment,’ said SU forward Hakim Warrick. ‘He doesn’t worry about his last shot, he only looks for his next one. When he gets an open look, you look for him.’

Warrick was alluding to a 3 Gerry missed with 30 seconds left in regulation. At the time, SU led 67-65 and could’ve put the Hoyas away.

‘I’m stunned he missed that one in regulation,’ Boeheim said. ‘He doesn’t miss too many of those, but he made up for it in overtime.’

McNamara helped pile on the points in overtime, hitting a 3-pointer and then a runner in the lane, putting the Orange up by six with 1:10 remaining.

‘Down the stretch, I proved that I can make it and Josh Pace has proved he can make it,’ McNamara said. ‘We know what to do down the stretch.’

Coming into the game needing only four 3s to break the record, McNamara didn’t hit his first until 3:44 remained in the first half. He hit another two minutes later, though, and would finish the night with 17 points and seven assists.

‘It shows you how great of a shooter he is – doing that halfway through his junior year,’ Warrick said. ‘I’m sure that’s gonna be his record for a long time.’

Said McNamara of the record: ‘It’s something you look back on when your career’s done. You hope it lasts. It’s like Peyton Manning this year – you don’t worry about it until you look back on it.’

Published on January 18, 2005 at 12:00 pm