Big East Conference Championship Recap
NEW YORK – Most of the sellout crowd of 19,528 at Madison Square Garden knew what was going on. On the hardwood stage from midtown, Gerry McNamara went from downtown.
The star guard from Syracuse mirrored himself nailing a 3-pointer with 1:29 left in the 1st half and then doing it again with 1:31 left in the second half, both shots squashing any momentum from West Virginia. In the Big East Championship title game the Orange defeated the Mountaineers of West Virginia by 68-59, claiming their first conference tournament championship in more than a decade.
Those two 3-point shots by McNamara were critical but by no means instrumental in this ‘Cuse victory. Hakim Warrick, who finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds in the school’s only other meeting of the season, scored 20 points to go along with 13 rebounds, earning him the Dave Gavitt Award, given out to the tournament’s most outstanding player. Warrick finishes the season second overall in Big East scoring (21.4 ppg), third in rebounds (8.4 rpg), and third in field goal percentage (.552).
The senior Warrick was able to hold West Virginia’s star player, Kevin Pittsnogle, to just two points, making only 1-of-8 shots. At times he seemed frustrated, along with his teammates, by the 2-3 Syracuse zone and 1-3-1 full-court press. After the game West Virginia head coach John Beilein didn’t seemed to concerned with the loss.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to have similar times in my life, but not four times on this stage. These kids are going to remember this forever – for ever and ever,” Beilein said.
After a first half exhibition by Syracuse on how to play defense, West Virginia’s Joe Herber was able to hit a three-pointer with 5:51 left to play before halftime to tie the game at 23. McNamara’s three helped give the Orange a 41-31 lead at the break. Syracuse was excellent out of the locker room on both ends, building an 18-point lead that would eventually dwindle to five.
McNamara finished with 16 points while senior Josh Pace added 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists. For West Virginia, Ty Sally, recovering from a stomach ailment scored a team-high 13 points. Herber and Mike Gansey each added 11.
The anticipation at the Garden was at its best during pre-game player introductions. Music roared with the lyrics, “The weak or the strong, who got it goin’ on?” After Saturday night the pre-season No. 1 claimed its throne atop the Big East.
