Paul Harris grabbed the long defensive rebound off a missed 3-pointer by Wichita State’s Karon Bradley and stormed down the court. He leaped from just inside the foul line and threw down a thundering dunk.

The slam brought Syracuse within 15 points with 6:37 left in the game and the crowd of 23,857 at the Carrier Dome was as loud as ever. Harris scored 14 points Saturday-all of them coming in the second half.

But Harris said the highlight reel dunk wasn’t what started Syracuse’s stunning rally.

‘No,’ Harris said. ‘Usually you see me get a dunk and I’ll be hyped. That dunk was nothing. It was just a regular two points and I told our team: let’s get back on D. We’re down 15, that dunk didn’t mean nothing.’

Still, Harris’ second-half performance is a big reason why SU found itself in the game until the very end.

At halftime, the Orange was down 39-25, and Harris was a non-factor. He played 11 minutes, missed one shot and committed a foul. He had zero rebounds.

‘I think when we get some movement and get some opportunities for him to get in there, that’s when he’s at his best,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘Early in the game he was trying to go from half court and the defense was set. That just takes time to learn.’

When the Orange needed him the most, Harris responded and made the halftime adjustment. He shot 6-of-7 from the field in the second half and made his only free throw for his 14 points.

‘I just played harder I guess,’ Harris said. ‘I should have been doing it in the first half. That’s my fault and hey, I just tried to bring us back, but we fell a little short.’

Harris successfully converted a huge 3-point play with 3:13 left in the game, which trimmed the Shockers’ advantage to four points. He drove to the basket more often in the second half, creating better shot opportunities.

Harris also made his first collegiate 3-pointer from the left wing three minutes into the second half. He had missed his first nine attempts from beyond the arc in his first seven games.

Devendorf sick

A notable absence from the court for much of the second half was sophomore guard Eric Devendorf, SU’s second-leading scorer.

Devendorf played 18 minutes, his lowest time of the season, and only five in the second half.

‘He’s been sick today, but he felt like he could play,’ Boeheim said.

Before the game, during the team’s pregame shootaround, Devendorf held onto a bottle of Gatorade and grabbed crackers from the SU sideline on his way to the locker room

Coming off a 3-for-13 shooting performance vs. Holy Cross on Monday, Devendorf was 2-of-6 Saturday night for six points. He had four turnovers.

‘Eric hasn’t been feeling too good,’ Terrence Roberts said. ‘Without him, defensively, we should have been able to get in there and play harder.’

He was on the court for the game’s final play and attempted the final shot of the game, a 3-pointer that was partially blocked and never made it close to the net. Boeheim had brought all of his shooters on the court for the last play, but SU failed to get a decent look at the basket.

‘The play was to get one of the guys open for a 3-pointer,’ Harris said. ‘It didn’t work. That’s all it is. I don’t have to get into all of that.’

Gerry in the house

Former Syracuse guard Gerry McNamara attended the game Saturday night and received a standing ovation from the crowd after being introduced in the second half.

McNamara had spent the past two months in Greece, playing for Olympiakos BC-or lack thereof. McNamara saw less than a minute of action in Olympiakos’ first five Euro League games. He asked for a release from his contract and returned to the United States on Tuesday.

The Carrier Dome video board showed a shot of McNamara during a timeout on the floor with 10:24 remaining in the game.

One possibility for McNamara in the United States is to play for the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association, who drafted McNamara on a whim in September with the hopes of luring him.

Published on December 2, 2006 at 12:00 pm