NEW YORK – Before Friday night’s championship game against No. 6 North Carolina, graduate assistant Gerry McNamara delivered a message to Wes Johnson: it was his time to shine in the Big Apple.

‘He said when the lights come on you are going to know it,’ Johnson said. ‘Then I saw it, and after that the shots started falling.’

Bucket after bucket, swish after swish, the junior transfer certainly heeded McNamara’s advice and shined in front of a frenzied crowd at Madison Square Garden. He even brought home a little hardware as a result, too.

Johnson’s sizzling performance in his first set of games at Madison Square Garden earned him MVP honors and lifted Syracuse to a 87-71 victory over No. 6 North Carolina Friday night. Johnson scored a team-high 25 points and hauled in 7 rebounds, improving his total to 42 and 18 in Syracuse’s sweep in New York City.

‘It was a must for me to step up tonight,’ Johnson said. ‘I knew it was going to be a mismatch for me on the court so I knew I had to be aggressive coming into the game. I knew I had to be more aggressive than I was in the past three games and I think tonight was probably the best game for me to do it.’

Johnson said he felt ‘good’ coming into a game he called the biggest stage he’s ever played on, with his shots falling during the shoot around and him focused on the task at hand. Little did anyone know that his 17-point, 11-rebound, 6-block performance against No. 13 California Thursday night would be the appetizer to Friday night’s entrée.

He started the display early. On the Orange’s first possession, he fired from the left corner and knocked down a 3-pointer that ignited the crowd. It was just the beginning of what would be a career-high scoring night.

‘He ate his Wheaties before the game,’ shooting guard Andy Rautins said. ‘I think he didn’t do anything different tonight. He’s going to play Wesley basketball and that’s aggressive and being in the right spots at all the right times. He’s an athletic guy who can shoot the rock, so he’s going to play his game.’

The tour-de-force for Johnson only got better as the game went on. He found consistency beyond the arc by parking himself outside and shooting 4-of-8 from 3, but also took it to the rim when necessary. He wasn’t afraid to go inside, even with Carolina’s front line presenting problems for most of the night, as evident by his spin move and fall-away jumper with North Carolina big man Ed Davis breathing down his neck inside the lane in the second half.

While the rest of the offense struggled at times, Johnson single handedly took over and carried Syracuse. Rautins said the team tried to get the ball to the hot shooter, and Johnson certainly fit that ball. His 11-straight points in the first half gave SU a lead when UNC threatened to pull away.

With UNC leading 13-11, Johnson hit a free throw, added a lay-up and dunk, and connected on two 3-pointers to give the Orange a 22-20 lead. After the last 3-pointer to vault the Orange ahead, the chest beating began.

He finished with 16 points in the first half for the Orange, while the rest of the team only scored 21 points. Point guard Scoop Jardine said without Johnson’s brilliance, the first half would’ve ended much different than a 2-point lead for UNC.

‘Definitely he was big,’ Jardine said. ‘We all had our share of moments, but he was big throughout the whole game. In the first half, if we didn’t get that 16 points out of him, we probably would be down 16.’

Even though Johnson had only nine points in the second half, it didn’t matter. His performance propelled the Orange to the upset and as the game clock ticked closer to zero, it was time to celebrate.

He held up his hands and started showcasing the Syracuse written across his chest. He embraced Arinze Ounuaku, before emphasizing the name on his jersey for a little more time. This was what Madison Square Garden was all about.

As the All-Tournament was announced, Jardine and Onuaku had no doubts that Johnson would garner MVP honors. Perhaps trying to be coy about it, Johnson said he had no idea he would be selected.

His first trip to Madison Square Garden ended in the middle of the court hoisting an award that signaled his and his team’s dominance. Even a kid from a small town in Texas felt the ramifications of that moment.

‘It’s like a dream come true,’ Johnson said. ‘All that hard work and stuff. I’m still speechless about it.’

mrehalt@syr.edu

Published on November 24, 2009 at 12:00 pm