DENVER – Ten games had passed since the Syracuse men’s basketball team last abandoned the zone. Perfect, the Orangemen thought. That’s 10 games to perfect the 2-3 and prepare for a run in the NCAA Tournament, where the zone stifles offenses and confuses coaches.

About 15 minutes into the game, SU abandoned the preserver of tournament life, switched to a man-to-man defense, watched guard Gerry McNamara take over the game and stormed to an 80-75 win over Brigham Young before 19,286 at the Pepsi Center. With the first-round win, Syracuse faces Maryland on Saturday at 5:45 p.m. in the second round.

Offensively, as a whole, SU (22-7) struggled. But McNamara exploded for 43 points on 11-for-17 shooting, including 9-for-13 from 3-point range. That effort, combined with the man-to-man defense, allowed Syracuse to come back from what was a 13-point BYU lead at one point.

‘Gerry was as good as I have ever seen in college basketball,’ Boeheim said.

McNamara scored the most points in the NCAA Tournament since Wally Szczerbiak scored 43 against Washington in 1999. McNamara’s 43 was the most points ever scored by a Syracuse player in the tournament, breaking Gary Clark’s record of 34, set against Lafayette in 1957. Also, his nine tournament 3-pointers were the most of any SU player.

Want more? The last time a Syracuse player scored 43 points was in 1971, when Bill Smith scored 47 against Lafayette. Only four SU players have ever scored 40 in a game.

As historic as McNamara’s performance was, though, SU’s defense was just as important.

‘Defensively, we did a great job,’ Boeheim said. ‘Whenever we think we have a good zone defense, someone always seems to prove us wrong. You have to give my guys a lot of credit.’

With BYU’s 75 points, good defense isn’t the first thing that pops to mind. But the game’s fast pace contributed in large part to the high score. Considering that, and the fact that when forward Hakim Warrick picked up his third foul with seven minutes left in the first half, SU lost one of its best – and, most importantly, longest – interior defenders, SU’s defense shined.

Early on, Brigham Young’s shooting did, too. The Cougars hit their first five 3s – including the first three of the game from Mike Hall – to grab an early 15-12 lead. With 8:49 left in the first half, BYU held a 29-21 lead and had hit eight 3s.

A minute and a half later, Warrick picked up his third foul. A smaller lineup, which SU used when the 6-foot-6 Josh Pace replaced the 6-foot-8 Warrick, cemented the change from zone to man.

‘When a team is shooting like that, it’s hard to play zone,’ center Craig Forth said. ‘We lost Hak, and we’re playing man-to-man for the first time in a long time. All that considered, we did great on defense.

‘(Man-to-man) defense wasn’t really a problem. I mean, we’ve been playing man all our lives. So usually it’s the zone we always have to work on, being in the right position. Man is easy. You just stay in front of your guy.’

The man defense tamed the Cougars (21-9), and Syracuse closed the half with a 19-9 run with Warrick benched, tying the game at 42.

‘I was just sitting on the bench, thinking, ‘Please, just get us through this half so I can get back out there,” Warrick said. ‘I knew in the second half that I’d have another chance.’

When he got it, Warrick scored 14 second-half points, easing the burden off McNamara, who entered the half with 28 points on 7-for-8 shooting, including 6-for-7 from 3-point land.

Though Syracuse built a nine-point lead in the second half, BYU clawed back, taking the lead, 73-72, with 3:18 left.

The Cougars had a chance to win at the end, but an open 3-point look by BYU senior Mark Bigelow rimmed off, and McNamara nailed 3 of 4 free throws to seal it.

‘They played really well against us,’ Boeheim said. ‘We knew they shot well from the 3-point line. But they started hitting 3s, and we could not stay in the zone today at all.’

Still, it was McNamara’s game that caused the most buzz.

‘Every smart basketball player knows when you’re on a streak, you just gotta give him the ball,’ Forth said. ‘The hot shooters get it. Gerry had it tonight, to say the least.’

Published on September 8, 2004 at 12:00 pm