Coming from Jim Boeheim, the praise was much appreciated. After the Syracuse men’s basketball team’s victory over Princeton on Friday, the head coach of the Orange approached the microphone at the postgame press conference and said Princeton’s defense was the most aggressive SU has played in a while.

Hearty praise considering SU plays in the Big East, a conference known for its come-hard-or-don’t-come-at-all attitude.

‘Princeton is probably as physical as any team that we’ve played,’ Boeheim said. ‘Whether Ivy League or not, they’re probably as physical defensively as anybody. They’re a finesse team on offense, but they’re a very physical team on the defensive end.’

While the Tigers allowed SU’s guards to shoot from the outside, they tightened their zone whenever SU tried to attack in the paint. Since the Tigers couldn’t contain SU star Hakim Warrick’s athleticism in the paint, they chose to foul him, employing – what else? – a Hack-a-Hak approach.

Warrick was fouled 12 times over the course of the game. Princeton tried to limit his touches, but when that failed, the defense tried to stop him completely by sending him to the line. Warrick was 8-for-10 shooting from the free-throw line. He finished with 20 points and six rebounds.

‘It was tough,’ Warrick said, ‘especially not getting any shots and just going to the line. It’s kind of frustrating.’

‘It takes its toll on a guy like Hakim,’ SU guard Gerry McNamara said, ‘but I thought he did a great job of keeping his cool. The way he finished the game was unbelievable for what he put up with all game. They were doubling him, tripling him. It was a tough defense.’

All 15 of Syracuse’s players saw action in Thursday night’s lopsided win over Northern Colorado. But with a close game and its first formidable opponent of the year Friday, Boeheim retreated to a short bench, subbing just two players – sophomores Louie McCroskey and Terrence Roberts.

McCroskey subbed for guard Josh Pace, who struggled for most of the night while scoring only three points. McCroskey played 14 minutes and contributed two points. Roberts received 26 minutes off the bench, reducing starting center Craig Forth to just 14 minutes.

The talk prior to the start of the season centered around SU’s depth and ability to sub as deep as 10 players. But with a close game, Boeheim trusted just Roberts and McCroskey as subs.

Warrick, McNamara and sophomore Demetris Nichols all played 40 minutes.

After the game, Boeheim said he didn’t want to force freshmen Dayshawn Wright and Josh Wright into a physical game against Princeton.

‘When you play Princeton, it’s that kind of game,’ Boeheim said. ‘It’s not the game you throw a couple of freshmen into.

‘I’m not going to answer any more questions this year about who plays. The guys who play, play. … You can write whatever you want to about it, but I’m not going to answer any more questions about it.’

For the second consecutive night, Nichols reached double digits. But Friday night, he did it with a lot more at stake.

After recording 11 points in SU’s win over Northern Colorado on Thursday, Nichols fired back with 14 points on 3-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc Friday.

Nichols added three rebounds and two assists while playing all 40 minutes.

‘Demetris made some big plays in the first half,’ Boeheim said.

Nichols hit two important 3-pointers in the first half during SU’s 13-3 run. The second, with 6:52 to play, cut Princeton’s lead to two, 17-15.

Later, Nichols started penetrating more. On one possession in the second half, the sophomore pulled up in the corner at the 3-point line, only to pump fake and drive to the basket before being fouled on his shot.

‘(Demetris) found some holes when we reversed it to the weak side,’ Boeheim said, ‘and he was able to attack the basket.’

Warrick was named the Coaches vs. Cancer Syracuse Region MVP. In his two games at the Carrier Dome, he scored 39 points and had 16 rebounds. … Despite the close game, there were only four ties and two lead changes the entire night.

Published on November 14, 2004 at 12:00 pm