Just 20 minutes separated Syracuse from serious trouble. So many times this year SU had played one solid half but couldn’t finish the deal, and Saturday was another candidate. Despite out-shooting Louisville 54.5 percent to 29.0, Syracuse trailed by one point and had three starters with three fouls at halftime. The NCAA Tournament was fading away.

But a superb defensive effort, especially from the bench, in addition to guard Gerry McNamara’s 30 points, allowed Syracuse to brush off Louisville, 79-66, in front of a NCAA season-record crowd of 31,190 on Saturday night at the Carrier Dome. SU remained ninth in the Big East but moved just two wins from the elusive 20 that likely guarantees a Big Dance berth.

Though Syracuse (18-8, 6-6 Big East) shot a season-high 59.1 percent, Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim and his players said the most active zone defense in three months was the difference. After watching Cincinnati shooters burn his team from the outside on Wednesday, guard Louie McCroskey said SU focused on extending the zone as far as possible on Saturday.

‘A lot of times E.D. (Eric Devendorf) and G-Mac, they’ll be there, but they don’t put their hands up because they’ll think, ‘They can’t make that shot,’ and they make it,’ said McCroskey, who scored six points. ‘We had to make sure they don’t get attempts.’

Using 13 players, Louisville saw their NCAA hopes plummet in shooting 30.8 percent from the field. The Cardinals (16-9, 4-8) remained close due to the combination of their 26-of-30 mark from the foul line and the Orange’s horrendous 19-of-46 clip.

Syracuse took command with a 20-4 run in the first seven minutes after halftime for a 55-40 lead. Devendorf, who was the only other Orange player in double figures, scored nine of his 14 points during the stretch. McNamara added two of his four 3-pointers, part of a 10-of-16 shooting night to go along with six rebounds and five assists.

The guards were the primary finishers for a confident – rather, urgent – Orange offense that found many open looks thanks to the one-and-done Cardinals and their 18 turnovers. SU held a 22-5 edge in fast break points.

‘Our defense started it,’ Devendorf said. ‘We made shots early and we had a fast break opportunity that we converted. We took that momentum that we had on offense to the defensive end, caused some turnovers and then converted on the turnovers.’

Syracuse held the lead because of the bench’s performance in the zone. Three starters were, for the most part, missing in action with foul trouble: Forward Demetris Nichols scored a season-low five points; forward Terrence Roberts and center Darryl Watkins scored three apiece.

Enter the quartet of McCroskey, Josh Wright, Matt Gorman and Arinze Onuaku, who provided valuable assistance off the bench. McCroskey and Wright didn’t let up on Louisville’s Taquan Dean, who led the Cardinals with 21 points but only made four field goals.

‘The bench won us the game tonight,’ said Devendorf, who along with McNamara specified that the zone had not been that effective since SU beat Texas Tech, 81-46, in Madison Square Garden on Nov. 3.

And to think, the zone was not SU’s first choice. McNamara said he anticipated Louisville handling the 2-3 better than most teams in the Big East. Syracuse played man-to-man for the first six minutes of the game, but second fouls on Nichols and Roberts altered the plan.

‘That’s the one danger of playing man-to-man,’ Boeheim said. ‘We committed some bad fouls.’

No matter; the bench filled in. After the spurt to open the second half, Syracuse’s zone prevented Louisville from closing within 10 the rest of the night. That type of defensive play will be necessary because three of SU’s final four opponents are ranked.

‘Our zone is (designed) to force the outside shot but at the same time contest it,’ Wright said. ‘We had to extend it a little bit. We worked on it all week, and I think we crowded those guys pretty well. They missed some shots, and we took advantage of that.’

Published on February 19, 2006 at 12:00 pm