WASHINGTON, D.C. — He struggled on the road. He struggled with fatigue. He struggled with physical defenses.

And for much of the No. 15 Syracuse men’s basketball team’s 93-84 overtime victory over Georgetown in front of 17,352 at the MCI Center on Saturday, SU guard Gerry McNamara’s difficulties continued.

But over the final seven minutes, McNamara shrugged off each suggestion of his struggles, scoring 14 of Syracuse’s final 22 points, including 10 in overtime.

“He never gets any doubt,” sophomore Hakim Warrick said. “He’s got no memory out there. None. He just keeps shooting. He was struggling, and he’s been struggling on the road most of the year, but he came up big down the stretch.”

SU’s win, coupled with Pittsburgh’s victory over Connecticut on Sunday, keeps the Orangemen (21-4, 11-3 Big East) and Pitt tied for first place in the Big East West Division.

McNamara entered Saturday’s game connecting on just 21 percent of his 3-point attempts away from the Carrier Dome. He’d also made just 11 of his past 40 3-pointers.

Early on against Georgetown (13-12, 5-9), McNamara’s woes continued. He scored two points in the first half and, with 2:17 remaining in the game, he’d shot 1 of 8.

McNamara’s fortunes changed when he connected on a 3-pointer — his first basket since SU’s first points — to cut Georgetown’s lead to 72-71.

“We got him an open look,” Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. “Gerry never misses in that situation. Whatever they say (he’s shooting lately), I don’t want anyone but him taking a 3-pointer at that time of the game.”

After burying the 3-pointer to kick-start an 8-2 run, which helped SU take a 76-74 lead, McNamara snuffed out the rally. As the Orangemen attempted to run down the clock, they forced Georgetown to intentionally foul McNamara. With an opportunity to ice the game, McNamara — who missed his first free throw in Big East play earlier in the game — bricked the first of two freebies.

From that point on, McNamara made all his shots. After he hit the second free throw, Georgetown’s Gerald Riley buried a 3-pointer, sending the game to overtime. McNamara, though, was determined that his atypical blunder would not cost the Orangemen.

“I had to make up for that foul shot I missed to ice the game,” McNamara said. “I got a second chance, so I’m going to put it down the next time.”

In overtime, McNamara put down shot after shot.

First, he nailed a free-throw-line jumper. On the next possession, McNamara canned an open 3-pointer as GU double-teamed freshman Carmelo Anthony.

Two possessions later, with Syracuse leading, 85-80, McNamara made good on his second chance to finish off the Hoyas. As the shot clock wound down, McNamara drifted left, sinking a 3-pointer with Georgetown’s Brandon Bowman in his face.

McNamara responded with a calm fist pump before a mob of teammates heaped on celebratory high-fives and backslaps.

“I don’t think he can make that shot again,” Boeheim said, “but he made it.”

Said Georgetown head coach Craig Esherick: “Gerry McNamara’s shot in overtime was big. He had Bowman all over him. That’s NBA, top-of-the-arc type stuff.”

To set the stage for McNamara’s heroics, Syracuse survived an awe-inspiring performance from Georgetown center Mike Sweetney and a gut-wrenching performance from the Orangemen’s offensive options.

Sweetney dominated the game, finishing three assists and three blocks short of a quadruple-double. The Georgetown center led his team in points, assists, rebounds and blocks.

Despite constant double-teams, Sweetney was able to score 31 points by spinning between defenders and tossing up soft jump shots. When not scoring, Sweetney drew two or three defenders and found open teammates.

“He’s a good player,” Warrick said. “But it’s a team game, and we got balanced scoring.”

Although Syracuse finished with four players in double figures, it struggled to find any options in the first half. The Orangemen went scoreless for the first four minutes. By the time they finally broke the drought, they faced an 11-2 deficit. They finished the half trailing 30-27 and shooting 31 percent on 12-of-38 shooting.

Syracuse was led by Anthony, who nearly matched Sweetney in points with 30, but needed twice as many shots (29) to do it. On offense, the Orangemen stood around, collecting only seven assists and forcing Anthony to attempt awkward shots.

“We couldn’t get anything from our offensive sets,” Boeheim said. “We were running around like chickens. There were times we didn’t know what defense they were in.”

Published on March 2, 2003 at 12:00 pm