No. 20 Syracuse 76, Virginia Tech 64

No. 20 Syracuse 76, Virginia Tech 64
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -- Gerry McNamara scored 26 points and Hakim Warrick had 15 points and seven assists to lead No. 20 Syracuse to a 76-64 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday night.
It was a nice rebound for the Orangemen (14-3, 4-2 Big East), who had lost two straight, including an embarrassing 66-45 setback at home last week to No. 7 Pittsburgh. Virginia Tech (8-10, 1-6 Big East) lost its fifth straight.
Josh Pace had 12 points and six assists, and freshman guard Demetris Nichols, who started in place of Billy Edelin, added 12 points for the Orangemen.
Jamon Gordon led the Hokies with 21 points. Bryant Matthews had 18 points and only five rebounds before fouling out.
Hobbled by a sore left groin, McNamara scored only 14 points in the previous two games to drop his average to 16.5 points per game. But the Orangemen had a week off, and McNamara took advantage of the break to recover. He shot 6-for-14 on 3-pointers and added five assists.
Syracuse gained control right from the opening tip as the Hokies struggled to find any openings in the Orangemen's 2-3 zone defense.
Nichols scored the Orangemen's first two baskets. McNamara followed with a 3-pointer from the top of the key and Pace hit a floater in the lane for a 9-0 lead at 16:20.
A two-handed dunk by Jeremy McNeil gave Syracuse a 23-6 lead midway through the period. The only points the Hokies had managed to that point were a pair of 3-pointers by Gordon. Matthews didn't score his first points until he hit two free throws at 9:47.
Syracuse, which led by as many as 23, gained a 44-26 lead at halftime while holding the Hokies to 34.5 percent shooting. But Virginia Tech went on a 15-2 run early in the second half to briefly make a game of it.
Bryan Randall, the quarterback on the football team, began the spurt with a 3-pointer from the top of the key at 17:49, Gordon converted a three-point play and Matthews added six points.
Randall stole the ball from Warrick in the lane and fed Zabian Dowdell for a fast-break layup to pull Virginia Tech to 51-45 at 13:17.
The Orangemen regrouped after a timeout and pulled away. Warrick fed Pace for a layup to begin a 12-2 spurt. McNamara then hit Warrick for an alley-oop dunk before nailing a 3-pointer at 10:39 to boost the lead back to 59-47.
Edelin, who had started every game this season, sat out because of personal issues and will not play for an indefinite period. He did not practice all week but was in uniform for the game and sat on the bench.