If there was any doubt, Syracuse basketball senior Josh Brooks made the blowout official.

Brooks came off the Orange bench – the deepest part of the bench – with less than two minutes to go in Saturday’s Big East home opener against Seton Hall. And in the final seconds he raced to the hoop for the first two points of his college career, capping SU’s 75-50 win over the Pirates.

The No. 6 Orange never trailed, and the Pirates went without a field goal for seven minutes to open the game. Seton Hall (8-5, 1-2 Big East) turned the ball over 20 times and shot just 35.8 percent from the floor – and four-for-17 from 3-point range.

‘You don’t get many easy games in this league,’ Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘We’re happy to at least get one, anyway.’

Junior guard Gerry McNamara led the Orange (15-1, 2-0 Big East) with 23 points, including four of SU’s five 3-pointers. Senior forward Hakim Warrick scored 14 points in 36 minutes, in what Boeheim characterized as Warrick’s weakest performance of the season. Seton Hall kept the heat on Warrick for the whole game, often double- and triple-teaming him.

‘He’ll get that all year,’ Boeheim said. ‘He’ll get a lot worse next year.’

But the Orange’s strong defense and patient offense more than compensated for a sub-par showing from Warrick. Boeheim credited much of his team’s defensive success to senior center Craig Forth, and sophomore forward Terrence Roberts filled in the gaps with two blocks and nine points in 20 minutes.

SU’s big men held 6-foot-8 junior forward Kelly Whitney, the Pirates’ highest scorer, to 10 points. The tough defense cost Forth two fouls early in the game – he came out after less than seven minutes and clocked 19 minutes total. But in the second half, Seton Hall’s crumbling defense treated Forth to two wide-open, thunderous slam dunks.

‘I was just disappointed that we didn’t dig deep when things got tough,’ said Seton Hall head coach Louis Orr, an SU basketball alumnus and former SU assistant coach.

The Pirates’ defense kept the game close for the first few minutes, but it quickly became clear that Seton Hall couldn’t keep up with the Orange – especially when the shots weren’t falling. Facing a 20-point deficit in the second half, the Pirates tried a full-court press for two possessions, but gave up after Syracuse evaded it the second time around.

Seton Hall’s demise was laced with missed opportunities and sloppy turnovers, and Syracuse was quick to capitalize. When they weren’t scrambling around the perimeter in search of an open shot, the Pirates consistently hurled their passes over heads and through outstretched hands.

Midway through the first half, one SHU pass bounced off the hands of Syracuse guard Billy Edelin near halfcourt. McNamara grabbed it as Edelin sprinted to the basket, and McNamara fed him the ball – he nailed the fast-break lay-up and the free throw that followed. Edelin’s 3-point play put the Orange up, 22-11, and electrified the Carrier Dome crowd of 25,578.

‘We played great on defense,’ McNamara said. ‘That’s why we won big.’

From there, having doubled the Pirates’ score, it was smooth sailing for Syracuse. Edelin played a season-high 22 minutes and contributed seven points. He came off the bench early for the second game in a row, and said he’s mentally ready for a more prominent role on the team.

‘That’s the Bill we need,’ McNamara said. ‘I think he’s back to where he needs to be.’

Published on January 10, 2005 at 12:00 pm