For the Syracuse men’s basketball team, center Jeremy McNeil is the one used to swatting the ball in the other direction. Last night, though, he was the one on the receiving end of a vicious block.

With 4:13 left in the first half, McNeil jumped toward the basket, looking to dunk for his first points of the night. Instead, Villanova forward Curtis Sumpter threw the ball – and McNeil – back to the court.

‘Man, I don’t even know what happened,’ McNeil said. ‘I didn’t expect anyone to jump with me. Next thing I know I’m on my ass.’

McNeil’s smack against the floor shook the Carrier Dome, leaving many wondering if the senior was OK. He immediately got up and showed no signs of injury.

Still, the rest of McNeil’s night didn’t run perfectly smooth. McNeil played just six minutes before fouling out. He finished 0-for-2 shooting and grabbed no rebounds.

‘It was just a tough game for me,’ McNeil said.

Monday night fights

With 12 minutes left, Villanova center Jason Fraser forced Louie McCroskey out-of-bounds, causing a bit more contact than SU forward Hakim Warrick felt was necessary.

As Fraser walked back on the court, Warrick pushed Fraser with two hands before the referees blew their whistles to break it up.

Fraser pleaded with an official to call a technical foul, saying, ‘Did you see that? He pushed me.’ No technical was called.

As Warrick and Fraser jogged back downcourt, the two exchanged words most of the way.

‘I was just protecting my teammate,’ Warrick said, ‘let their guy know he’s not going to push us around.’

Sweet Lou

McCroskey’s 3 with 2:29 left put SU up eight. But when Villanova called a timeout, it sounded like boos rained down on the court.

In fact, the crowd was shouting ‘Louuuuuuuuu,’ out of respect for McCroskey.

Since the freshman guard has become one of SU’s top reserves, McCroskey has received a warm welcome from the Carrier Dome crowd.

‘I appreciate it a lot,’ McCroskey said. ‘I didn’t know what to expect early on, when I first started getting into the games. But they’ve embraced me.’

After McCroskey missed two earlier 3s, the Bronx native said it was ‘my time’ when he got the open look.

‘I felt relieved,’ McCroskey said. ‘You’re going to miss some shots, but you’ve got to be mentally tough and know the next one is coming and try to make the next one.’

McCroskey, coming off the bench, played 26 minutes, more than the 12 minutes freshman starter Demetris Nichols played.

McCroskey scored 10 points on 3-for-7 shooting.

Golden pocket pick

As guard Gerry McNamara continues struggling with his shot – he hit just 3 of 10 last night – the point guard tries to make up for it in other areas.

Against Villanova, McNamara hit 11 of 12 free throws and snared two steals, each coming while sneaking behind the Villanova ball handler and poking the ball away from behind.

‘I’m just trying to make plays,’ McNamara said. ‘I just read guys’ eyes. If I think they’re not looking my way, I’ll go behind them and maybe take a chance. It’s better, too, when we play an up-tempo team like Villanova. When they’re running, they’re looking upcourt, so it’s easier than trying that stuff in a half-court offense.’

This and that

Ronneil Herron, who turns 24 today, didn’t get an early birthday present from SU coach Jim Boeheim. The walk-on rode the bench all game. … Three times in last night’s game McNamara showed signs of his nagging groin injury. With 4:08 left in the first half, he called for a replacement and hobbled to the bench. Then, with 6:09 left in the game, McNamara cut hard trying to get open for a pass and came up lame. At the end of the game, too, McNamara stretched his groin as he prepared to shoot his last two free throws. Said McNamara: ‘I slipped a few times, got run into the scorer’s table. It’s nothing new. It happens to me every day.’… Syracuse went the final 2:35 without a field goal. The Orangemen hit seven free throws in that time, though. … After McCroskey’s late 3, the SU student section, sans help from the band, took the initiative and sang ‘The Hey Song.’ After the expletive-laden ending, the rest of the crowd gave the students a rousing ovation.

Published on February 23, 2004 at 12:00 pm