Miami – Never mind Miami’s 13-12 record, the impending departure of its third-year coach or its underwhelming roster comprised mostly of no-names.

Just take a quick glance at the Syracuse bench. It tells you something far more important.

Smiles saturated Syracuse’s bench yesterday – a sharp change of pace from the Syracuse men’s basketball team’s recent slump – as the Orangemen beat up on Miami, 91-74, in front of 4,025 at the Convocation Center. That’s largely because Syracuse shot 64.4 percent from the field, including 71.9 percent in the first half. The shooting performance was SU’s best since connecting on 67.9 percent March 17, 1995 vs. Southern Illinois.

‘Syracuse did some things tonight that, athletically, we just haven’t seen,’ Miami head coach Perry Clark said. ‘They’re a good basketball team. Tonight we had no answers. We got waxed today. I mean, we got kicked.’

By the end of the game, even SU head coach Jim Boeheim managed a smile, offering a joke to Hakim Warrick and Jeremy McNeil about the failure of Miami’s Karron Clark to convert a dunk with a second left.

‘That would’ve been nice,’ Boeheim mocked as McNeil and Warrick cackled into their chairs.

All the smiles for a game in which Syracuse finally solved the offensive problems that have plagued it in recent games.

The biggest difference came in SU’s ball movement. After combining for 43 assists in their last four losses, the Orangemen recorded 22 on Saturday.

‘We were looking for each other a little bit better,’ center Craig Forth said. ‘We were moving the ball around. The more you do that, the more open shots you get, the more of those guys who don’t normally get the shots are going to take them. I know I can hit open shots. I know our team can hit open shots. You saw that today. A lot of assists obviously tells you a lot about the way we played.’

Indeed, Syracuse penetrated the lane effectively against Miami. As Josh Pace and Gerry McNamara drove, Miami double-teamed for help. That left teammates – especially centers Forth and McNeil – open underneath. The two combined for 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting and six rebounds in 37 minutes.

‘(The centers) scoring really helps,’ Forth said. ‘It’s big. They don’t think they have to worry about me. They don’t think they have to worry about Jeremy. But it opens everything up.’

Syracuse outscored Miami in the paint, 50-20. Aside from Forth and McNeil, most came from Warrick, the 6-foot-8 forward who hit 11 of 11 shots for 27 points.

Sophomore Josh Pace joined Forth and McNeil as role players contributing to the offensive outburst, shooting 6 for 8 for 13 points, the most since his 15-point effort in SU’s 82-68 win over Missouri on Jan. 12.

‘When eveything is clicking like that, everyone is clicking, it’s awesome,’ Warrick said. ‘And it’s hard to guard us. It’s good, especially getting it on the board like that.’

The Orangemen also scored 14 fast-break points compared to four for UM.

‘We came out to play, man,’ freshman Louie McCroskey said. ‘We got the most athletic guys in the country on our front line. We got good guards, too. So if we get out and push it on the break, it’s like Highlight City. That’s what you saw.’

Initially, Miami stuck with Syracuse. The Hurricanes employed early what Syracuse did all game – good ball movement leading to open shots. With four assists in the first six minutes, Miami shot 7 for 12. Miami even led SU, 20-18, with 13:11 left in the first half.

But then Syracuse went on a 25-4 run. Miami pulled within 13 early in the second half, but a 13-2 SU run ended any realistic hope of a Miami win.

‘We knew that we had to have a big offensive game sooner or later,’ Warrick said. ‘It was just good to go out there and get a big win like this.’

Published on February 15, 2004 at 12:00 pm