He had to be joking. Everyone knows Gerry McNamara is going to be the leading scorer this season for the Syracuse men’s basketball team. He had nobody fooled when he scored 29 points to lead the Orange to a win against Saint Rose in SU’s first exhibition game on Nov. 1.

So who was the senior guard kidding when he said before the season he wasn’t worried about scoring points, only winning games?

In Syracuse’s season-opening win Tuesday night against Bethune-Cookman, McNamara backed up his preseason plan to take only what defenses give him, no more.

Despite playing a team-high 32 minutes, McNamara took only five shots and scored just five points in No. 16 Syracuse’s 68-37 defeat of Bethune-Cookman in front of 17,821 at the Carrier Dome. The win sent Syracuse into the second round of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. Tonight at 8, Syracuse will face Cornell, which defeated St. Francis (Pa.) in Tuesday’s early game, 75-54.

‘They’re going to play (McNamara) that tough,’ Boeheim said. ‘It’s going to create openings for other people. He didn’t pass up any shots.

‘He’s going to be played tough all year. There are going to be games where he just has to get the ball to people and make plays and he did that tonight.’

Those people were a variety of players on Tuesday. Only Terrence Roberts with 15 and Demetris Nichols with 11 points managed double figures on a sloppy offensive night for Syracuse. Though the Orange led throughout the game, it committed an egregious 24 turnovers.

Still, McNamara wasn’t needed to rescue SU. He stayed within his game plan, letting his teammates shine because he didn’t receive many open looks.

‘It wasn’t that they were locking me down, I just took what they gave me,’ McNamara said. ‘I didn’t want to force anything. I just wanted to play within the offense.’

McNamara said he only saw one open look the entire game. It came in the middle of the first half when Josh Wright hit him with a behind-the-back pass on a fast break that McNamara drained. He missed his other three 3-point attempts in the game. His other points came on a jumper off an inbounds pass early in the second half. It was his only two-point attempt.

The Orange came into the season looking for other players to compliment McNamara as viable scoring options. But early on it appears McNamara won’t be the primary scorer for SU on a consistent basis. The team is playing its best when he isn’t the first option.

‘I think so, that might be a sign,’ McNamara said when asked if the team was better off when he didn’t have to lead the team in scoring. ‘If I have to play 35 minutes and score 29 points against Saint Rose and we only win by 13; that’s probably not good.’

McNamara only scored in single figures twice in Syracuse’s final 21 games last season. Forward Demetris Nichols, who continued his hot shooting with three 3’s early in the game, said not to expect another five-point night from McNamara.

‘He’s going to get his shots,’ Nichols said. ‘He just finds open players. I don’t think he wants to take bad shots. If guys are on him, he’s going to try his best to get it to the right person.’

McNamara has easily been the best player on the court for the Orange in its two preseason games and season-opener. But he has done so in a different way than people expected. Instead of hoisting 3’s right and left, he is acting like a true point guard, keeping the offense fluid by reversing the ball, penetrating and dishing to his teammates.

Scoring may be harder for McNamara this season than ever before. With last year’s leading scorer Hakim Warrick lost to graduation, Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim expects McNamara to wear a bull’s-eye every game.

Syracuse seized control of Bethune-Cookman by holding the Wildcats scoreless for more than 10 minutes in the first half. The Orange scored 11 points during that span to increase its lead to 25-10. The signature play of the run came on a thunderous Roberts dunk on a fast-break feed from McNamara.

It was typical of the whole night for McNamara – another person was in a better position to score, and he found him.

‘I just want to play good,’ McNamara said. ‘I’m not worried about how many points I score.’

Published on November 8, 2005 at 12:00 pm