Syracuse shuts down Gamecocks

That the Gamecocks landed with a thud yesterday was a testament to the Orangemen's determined defense.

Syracuse (14-5 overall) held McKie to just nine points and ran off a 27-4 spurt in the closing minutes of the first half, winning 84-37 and handing the Gamecocks (5-13) their seventh straight loss.

It was the fewest points allowed by Syracuse in coach Jim Boeheim's 23 years, but it was a struggle at the outset. Syracuse made just four of its first 17 shots.

"Our defense just held us in there," Boeheim said. "Our forwards helped keep McKie from getting inside the lane and made him give up the ball as much as possible."

AP PHOTO Syracuse turned in a stellar defensive performance against South Carolina yesterday, forcing the Gamecocks into committing 20 turnovers in the Orangemen's 84-37 rout.

To put Syracuse's defensive performance in perspective, it's only the second time in three years that McKie has been kept below double figures in scoring.

"We locked it down on defense," Preston Shumpert said, who came off the bench and got Syracuse untracked offensively with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws midway through the first half. "That was our best defensive effort of the year. We concentrated on helping everybody out. We knew McKie was a great player. We tried to hedge, hedge, hedge all night long on screens, try to get him out of his rhythm."

They did. McKie, who had made nearly half his shots from anywhere on the floor in the past 11 games and was averaging 18.3 points per game, was 3-for-11 in 25 minutes of play.

"It was embarrassing because I don't think Syracuse is 50 points better than us," McKie said, who needs just 36 points to become South Carolina's career scoring leader. Alex English scored 1,972 points in the 1970s. "But at the same time, this team is really lacking confidence. We're our own worst enemy."

Jason Hart led Syracuse with 15 points, Damone Brown added 13, and Etan Thomas finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and six blocks.

Syracuse held the Gamecocks to just 23.8 percent shooting in the first half and built an insurmountable lead despite their erratic early play. The Orangemen also outrebounded South Carolina 50-27 and forced 20 turnovers.

"We are struggling," South Carolina coach Eddie Fogler said. "It's obvious we are not a very good team. It seems to me our confidence goes and we don't react very well."

McKie searched unsuccessfully all game for some kind of opening but rarely got an open look at the basket.

"We tried to eliminate some of the things he likes to do," Hart said, who had four of Syracuse's nine steals to move past Pearl Washington into third place on the Orangemen's career steals list with 223. Sherman Douglas ranks first with 235.

"We couldn't get any shots in the first eight or nine minutes of the game, but we were able to keep our balance and focus on defense," Hart said. "Once they started being a little careless with the ball, I started going for it, trying to get some easy steals, and get us going."

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