Baseball Guru
01-09-2003, 04:34 AM
Syracuse 70, Seton Hall 66
By TOM CANAVAN
The Associated Press
1/9/03 12:34 AM
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- This is turning into a bad week for the tenants of the Meadowlands when it comes to getting a last-second call from the officials.
The New York Giants saw their postseason brought to a halt on Sunday when the officials in their NFC wild-card game failed to call a pass interference penalty on the final play in San Francisco. A call would have given them a change to kick a game-winning field goal.
Seton Hall, the South Orange school which plays its games at the Continental Airlines Arena in the Meadowlands sports complex, was done in by three Big East Conference officials, and two unexpected stars from Syracuse in a 70-66 loss on Wednesday night.
Gerry McNamara and Kueth Duany took over when freshman star Carmelo Anthony got in second-half foul trouble and rallied the Orangemen (9-1, 1-0 Big East) to their ninth straight win.
Like the Giants 39-38 loss to San Francisco, this game also had a controversial ending.
With Seton Hall trailing 68-66, the Pirates (5-6, 0-2) got the ball back with 14.2 seconds to play after Anthony missed a well-contested baseline shot. John Allen, who scored 16 points, eventually threw a great pass inside to Andre Sweet. The sophomore went up for a shot and was hit by Syracuse forward Hakim Warrick.
However, the officials -- John Cahill, Frank Scagliotta and Gene Monje -- didn't call a foul, a decision that stunned most of the 8,415 fans and the Pirates. Seton Hall coach Louis Orr took off his sports jacket and held it in disbelief.
Orr refused to blame the officials.
"It shouldn't come down to the refs making a call," Allen said. "It was pretty obvious when two or three guys are jumping on his back. They stole one and they know they did. It doesn't matter if there were 20 minutes left or two seconds. They have to make the call."
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who doesn't like to talk about the officiating, said the calls evened out.
"There were some unbelievable calls that's all I'm going to say," Boeheim said. "Everybody is talking about the last call. I don't want to hear about the last call. We had some to overcome some horrible calls."
Warrick said there was no foul.
"He was trying to jump into me and draw contact," Warrick said. "He was leaning away from me and I held my own. He was looking to draw the foul, but I wouldn't let it happen."
More importantly for Syracuse, the Orangeman showed they could win without Anthony, the talented orange-shoed forward who averaged 24.9 points and 10 rebounds in his first nine game. He was limited to a season-low 18 points -- only two in the second half -- and five rebounds.
"I think this was important for us, because it showed that the team can win without me scoring," Anthony said. "It was big to see everyone else step up. Kueth just mentally played hard and put us on his back in the second half. I think this was a test of the team's character. I knew we wouldn't go down."
Duany had 20 points, McNamara 17 and they combined to score the final 23 points for Syracuse, which rallied from a six-point deficit after Anthony went to the bench with 7:59 to go.
"Jerry made some tough shots and Q (Duany) made some big shots," Boeheim said. "It was a great comeback. If you evaluated our chances when Carmelo goes out with his fourth and we're down six, the odds were great on their part. Q and Jerry dug it out. We needed both of them or this is a 10-point loss."
Freshman center Kelly Whitney had a career-high 20 points for Seton Hall. Sweet added 11 and Andre Barrett had 10 points and nine assists.
McNamara, the other freshman starter for Syracuse, scored nine straight points and then made a steal and set up Duany for a slam dunk that gave the Orangemen a 58-56 lead with 5:51 to play.
Whitney tied the game with two free throws, but Duany hit a 3-pointer with 5:01 to play to give Syracuse the lead for good at 61-58.
Seton Hall had a chance to tie the game at 63, but Barrett failed to convert the free throw on a potential three-point play with 3:14 to go.
Duany and McNamara each added two free throws apiece for a 67-62 lead. Two free throws by Allen got Seton Hall within 68-66, but that was as close as it would get.
By TOM CANAVAN
The Associated Press
1/9/03 12:34 AM
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- This is turning into a bad week for the tenants of the Meadowlands when it comes to getting a last-second call from the officials.
The New York Giants saw their postseason brought to a halt on Sunday when the officials in their NFC wild-card game failed to call a pass interference penalty on the final play in San Francisco. A call would have given them a change to kick a game-winning field goal.
Seton Hall, the South Orange school which plays its games at the Continental Airlines Arena in the Meadowlands sports complex, was done in by three Big East Conference officials, and two unexpected stars from Syracuse in a 70-66 loss on Wednesday night.
Gerry McNamara and Kueth Duany took over when freshman star Carmelo Anthony got in second-half foul trouble and rallied the Orangemen (9-1, 1-0 Big East) to their ninth straight win.
Like the Giants 39-38 loss to San Francisco, this game also had a controversial ending.
With Seton Hall trailing 68-66, the Pirates (5-6, 0-2) got the ball back with 14.2 seconds to play after Anthony missed a well-contested baseline shot. John Allen, who scored 16 points, eventually threw a great pass inside to Andre Sweet. The sophomore went up for a shot and was hit by Syracuse forward Hakim Warrick.
However, the officials -- John Cahill, Frank Scagliotta and Gene Monje -- didn't call a foul, a decision that stunned most of the 8,415 fans and the Pirates. Seton Hall coach Louis Orr took off his sports jacket and held it in disbelief.
Orr refused to blame the officials.
"It shouldn't come down to the refs making a call," Allen said. "It was pretty obvious when two or three guys are jumping on his back. They stole one and they know they did. It doesn't matter if there were 20 minutes left or two seconds. They have to make the call."
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who doesn't like to talk about the officiating, said the calls evened out.
"There were some unbelievable calls that's all I'm going to say," Boeheim said. "Everybody is talking about the last call. I don't want to hear about the last call. We had some to overcome some horrible calls."
Warrick said there was no foul.
"He was trying to jump into me and draw contact," Warrick said. "He was leaning away from me and I held my own. He was looking to draw the foul, but I wouldn't let it happen."
More importantly for Syracuse, the Orangeman showed they could win without Anthony, the talented orange-shoed forward who averaged 24.9 points and 10 rebounds in his first nine game. He was limited to a season-low 18 points -- only two in the second half -- and five rebounds.
"I think this was important for us, because it showed that the team can win without me scoring," Anthony said. "It was big to see everyone else step up. Kueth just mentally played hard and put us on his back in the second half. I think this was a test of the team's character. I knew we wouldn't go down."
Duany had 20 points, McNamara 17 and they combined to score the final 23 points for Syracuse, which rallied from a six-point deficit after Anthony went to the bench with 7:59 to go.
"Jerry made some tough shots and Q (Duany) made some big shots," Boeheim said. "It was a great comeback. If you evaluated our chances when Carmelo goes out with his fourth and we're down six, the odds were great on their part. Q and Jerry dug it out. We needed both of them or this is a 10-point loss."
Freshman center Kelly Whitney had a career-high 20 points for Seton Hall. Sweet added 11 and Andre Barrett had 10 points and nine assists.
McNamara, the other freshman starter for Syracuse, scored nine straight points and then made a steal and set up Duany for a slam dunk that gave the Orangemen a 58-56 lead with 5:51 to play.
Whitney tied the game with two free throws, but Duany hit a 3-pointer with 5:01 to play to give Syracuse the lead for good at 61-58.
Seton Hall had a chance to tie the game at 63, but Barrett failed to convert the free throw on a potential three-point play with 3:14 to go.
Duany and McNamara each added two free throws apiece for a 67-62 lead. Two free throws by Allen got Seton Hall within 68-66, but that was as close as it would get.