CINCINNATI – Gerry McNamara hadn’t shot too well all season. Jim Boeheim said it himself. And that’s not the type of performance the coach or the guard expected in his senior season.

But with conference season has come the McNamara of old, at least for two games.

In what Syracuse players called the most physical game of the season, McNamara found himself in one of his classic zones in the second half. The senior scored 22 of his game-high 29 points after halftime to lead Syracuse past Cincinnati, 77-58, in a statement game for the Orange before the first sellout crowd of the season at Fifth Third Arena of 13,176.

The win validated Syracuse (15-2, 3-0 Big East) as a contender in the ultra-competitive Big East. True, McNamara hoisted his 3s, but instead of relying mainly on the outside shot as it has most of the season, Syracuse displayed an all-around game. The Orange outrebounded the Bearcats 51-27 and outscored them 36-20 in the paint.

Thanks to its work on the glass, Syracuse ran in the second half and found McNamara open shots in transition. The senior’s performance came one game after nailing seven 3-pointers and 25 points at Notre Dame on Wednesday.

‘I felt like he got a little bit going at Notre Dame,’ Boeheim said after claiming Davidson, when McNamara scored 38 points, was the only non-conference game in which his senior leader shot well. ‘Gerry likes to play on the road. I don’t keep the stats, but he might be a better road shooter than he is at home. The more people that yell at him the better he plays.’

With the teams tied 34-34 after a sloppy first half that saw both teams shoot less than 40 percent, only Syracuse could adjust. The Orange, which entered the game holding opponents to the fourth-lowest shooting percentage in the country (37.2), stifled the Bearcats to only 29.6 percent after break. Syracuse shot 55.2 percent, led by McNamara, who Boeheim didn’t think missed (he was 7-of-10).

‘I don’t really know,’ McNamara said of Boeheim’s assessment that he may be a better player away from home. ‘But I played well on this road trip and the best statistic for me is that we’re 2-0 on the road and that’s all that matters.’

Oddly enough, the turning point for Syracuse came after guard Eric Devendorf and center Darryl Watkins were whistled for their fourth fouls early in the second half with the Orange holding a slim 44-39 lead. Right after Louie McCroskey and Arinze Onuaku replaced them, Cedric McGowan hit a 3 for the Bearcats and the lead was two. It appeared all the banging down low (41 fouls total, 22 on SU) was wearing on the Orange, but it was the opposite.

Just like Wednesday night in Notre Dame, McNamara took it to another level when the Orange needed him most. The senior nailed two consecutive 3-pointers to push the Orange lead back to eight points. His 3s started a 24-9 run that put the game away.

SU forward Demetris Nichols again was the Orange’s second scoring option with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Fellow forward Terrence Roberts was the only other Syracuse player in double figures with 11.

‘You have to adjust to every game,’ McNamara said. ‘Cincinnati is such a physical and athletic team, we had to adjust to their style. In the first half it took us a while and in the second half we did a better job of locating where they were in the zone and getting out on the run. Once we did that, we got going on offense.’

What helped was a rare occasion in the last several seasons where Syracuse found itself with a prominent height advantage in a conference game. With Cincinnati not starting a player taller than 6-foot-7, Roberts (10 rebounds), Nichols (10) and two unsung heroes off the bench – Onuaku (8 in a career-high 23 minutes) and McCroskey (8) – took advantage on the glass.

‘We know people don’t think of us as a rebounding team,’ Roberts said. ‘But we came in tonight and I think all the big fellows – ‘D’ (Nichols), Arinze and Louie, we showed them tonight that we can rebound and we’re just as physical as the next team.’

Eric Devendorf represented the most glaring inconsistency for the Orange. One game after scoring a career-high 22 points, the freshman was repeatedly called for hand-check fouls and scored only four points.

‘He moves his mouth better than his feet right now,’ Boeheim said.

But on this night, only one member of the backcourt was needed. Stringing together two consecutive games may mean McNamara is finding his way out of the season-long slump the Syracuse head coach was willing to recognize. Coming into the game he was shooting a career-low 32.8 percent from the arc.

Said Boeheim: ‘He played as well as I’ve seen him play all year.’

Published on January 14, 2006 at 12:00 pm