Jan 13, 2003
Final Stats
By JIM O'CONNELL
AP Basketball Writer
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Syracuse's first game as a ranked team was its first
against a ranked team and the Orangemen delivered an impressive performance on
both ends of the court.
Hakim Warrick had 20 points to lead all five starters in double figures and
the 25th-ranked Orangemen (11-1) won their 11th straight, a 76-69 victory over
No. 11 Missouri on Monday night.
Syracuse moved into the Top 25 just hours before tipoff and quickly proved
it belonged, holding the Tigers (10-2) to 38 percent shooting, well off their
48.3 mark entering the game and 12 points below their average for the season.
The Tigers also had a season-high 20 turnovers.
Warrick had 10 rebounds and he was joined in a double-double by freshman
Carmelo Anthony, who had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Gerry McNamara
added 14 points and seven assists for Syracuse, while Craig Forth had 11 points
and Kueth Duany 10.
Ricky Clemons had 26 points, 10 above his season average, and seven assists
for Missouri. Center Arthur Johnson, who was coming in off three straight
double-doubles including 30 points and 15 rebounds in the last game against
Baylor, finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds. But he was never a factor
against Syracuse's 2-3 zone which had been having trouble stopping players
inside.
Warrick scored on a nice spin move with 10:58 left to give Syracuse a 61-48
lead. Missouri then went on a 9-0 run - with five players scoring - to get
within 61-57 with 8:15 to play.
Syracuse responded with a 10-0 run of its own. It started with a 3-pointer
by McNamara, who had come into the game shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc
but had missed his first four of the game. McNamara added another 3 in the run
and Anthony capped it with a 3 that made it 71-57 with 5:59 to play.
Warrick's big game followed a 24-point effort in the Orangemen's win over
Boston College on Saturday.
The only phase of the game where Syracuse struggled was the free throw line
where it went 11-for-22 with Warrick going 4-for-11.
The only other game this season where Missouri shot less than 40 percent was
its other loss, to Illinois.
