PITTSBURGH – As Syracuse junior guard Gerry McNamara made one more desperate attempt to penetrate Pittsburgh’s 2-3 zone defense in SU’s game against the Panthers on Saturday, a referee’s whistle blasted through the Petersen Events Center.

McNamara pushed right through a defender in Pitt’s zone – a zone which SU regularly employs itself. An offensive foul was called.

McNamara feebly argued his case, but then handed the ball to the referee and retreated to the other end of the court. Like most of SU’s attempts to solve Pitt’s menacing zone defense on Saturday night, McNamara failed.

The No. 20 Panthers overcame a 17-point first-half deficit and defeated No. 4 Syracuse, 76-69, in front of 12,508 people. After a first half in which McNamara repeatedly beat Pitt guard Carl Krauser into the lane in a man-to-man situation, Pitt decided stopping McNamara provided the key to victory. Its zone defense did the job perfectly.

‘We tried to do well on the defensive end and to limit McNamara,’ Krauser said.

In the first half, McNamara victimized Pitt for 14 points. Most troubling was McNamara’s ability to break Krauser down and get into the lane. Behind McNamara, SU grabbed an early 22-5 lead.

Late in the first half, the Panthers switched to the 2-3 zone. Ironically, SU had practiced for the zone all week. SU head coach Jim Boeheim – the zone’s master architect – figured his team would have its best chance for victory against a defense that it employs, and practices against regularly. But after the switch, SU’s offense began to falter. By halftime, SU’s lead had shrunk to 34-29.

‘It was a gradual thing,’ said McNamara, who led all scorers with 26 points. ‘It was just a letdown for us. They did a good job and kept prying, and we just let down.’

Pitt rallied to tie the score at 38 with 15:45 remaining. Immediately, SU ran off six straight points, the last of which came on a Louie McCroskey lay-up with 13:54 remaining.

Pitt called timeout, and the Orange (20-2, 7-1 Big East) never regained its rhythm. Against the Panthers’ zone, Syracuse didn’t score again until 7:28 remained. In that six-and-a-half-minute span, Pitt turned a six-point deficit into a seven-point lead, igniting a crowd that spent most of the first half silent.

Neither Hakim Warrick nor McNamara could remember a drought that bad in their SU careers.

‘We expect to go out and score every time,’ Warrick said. ‘(But) it happens to the best of us.’

SU had its share of opportunities during the drought. Open looks didn’t fall. Eight second-half turnovers cost Syracuse possessions.

The plan to contain McNamara worked to perfection. The zone kept the point guard out of the lane. Ten of his 12 second-half points came on desperation heaves with less than 2:10 to play.

With the Panthers (14-3, 4-2) focusing on McNamara, several other players had chances to take advantage.

They all failed.

No SU player besides Warrick and McNamara scored more than four points. The usually reliable Josh Pace finished with two points and four turnovers. Sophomores Demetris Nichols and McCroskey repeatedly missed open shots.

‘If they made (the change from man to zone) so someone else would have to beat them, it worked,’ McNamara said.

While McNamara repeatedly took advantage of Krauser in a man-defense situation, Pitt’s junior guard took revenge late. His team-leading 19 points all came in the second half. After each big basket he playfully flashed an ‘X’ – a tribute to his birthplace, the Bronx.

SU’s failure against the zone could be an alarming trend. Few teams have tried a zone against the Orange, a team that has turned the zone into its long-standing trademark. Boeheim commented that, earlier in the season, some lesser teams caused SU problems by using a zone defense.

And now, Syracuse’s apparent weakness has been exposed by a Big East rival.

‘You can really ask 100 questions for an hour,’ Boeheim said. ‘But that was it. That was the ballgame. We didn’t attack the zone very well and when we got open shots, we didn’t make them.’

Published on January 30, 2005 at 12:00 pm