A barrage of successful three-point field goals and a last-second block of a Kansas three-point attempt lifted Syracuse to its first Division I Men's Basketball Championship title April 7 in New Orleans.

Freshmen Carmelo Anthony and Gerry McNamara combined for nine three-pointers and 38 total points, and Hakim Warrick knocked Michael Lee's potential game-tying shot out of bounds as the Orangemen survived for an 81-78 victory over Kansas.

Warrick missed two free throws that would have upped Syracuse's three-point lead with 13.5 seconds remaining. But he redeemed himself by extending his hand into the path of Lee's shot from the corner with 1.5 seconds left.

"I definitely wanted to go out there and try to make a play after missing those free throws," Warrick said. "I saw a guy open in the corner and I knew they needed to hit a three, so I just tried to fly at him."

Kirk Hinrich's three-point attempt under heavy pressure from three Syracuse defenders off the ensuing inbounds play was off the mark, and the Orangemen celebrated their initial title in their fourth Final Four appearance.

"We played the best first half we could play, and then we just hung on," said Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim, who watched his team connect on 10 of 13 three-point shots in the opening 20 minutes.

Syracuse led by as many as 18 points in the first half and still held a 53-42 advantage at the intermission. The 53 points was a first-half record for a Division I men's championship contest.

McNamara hit six three-pointers, all before the break, to finish with 18 points. Anthony fought off the effects of a sore back to finish with 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

"Gerry and Carmelo started out -- they just free-wheeled it," Boeheim said. "They looked for their shots, they were loose. They just got us off to a great start."

Kansas quickly narrowed the deficit, using a 10-2 spurt in the first three minutes of the second half to pull within 55-52. Syracuse gradually built its lead back to 12 at 72-60, only to withstand another Kansas rally.

Kueth Duany's free throw with 24 seconds remaining pushed the Orangemen's lead back to three and was the final point of the game. Hinrich's three-point attempt from beyond the top of the key rattled out and was rebounded by Warrick, setting up the exciting finish.

"I've never been one to like moral victories, and I don't like this one," Kansas head coach Roy Williams said. "But I love the competitiveness of my kids."

Kansas senior forward Nick Collison had a stellar performance in his final collegiate game with 19 points and a game-high 21 rebounds. Keith Langford contributed 19 points, Jeff Graves added 16 points and 16 rebounds, and Hinrich scored 16 for the Jayhawks.

Billy Edelin had 12 points and Josh Pace scored eight off the bench for Syracuse, which finished the season with a 30-5 record. Kansas also had 30 wins, with eight defeats.

Anthony, McNamara, Collison, Hinrich and Langford were named to the Final Four all-tournament team.

REGIONAL SEMIFINALS

Kentucky 63, Wisconsin 57; Marquette 77, Pittsburgh 74; Arizona 88, Notre Dame 71; Kansas 69, Duke 65; Texas 82, Connecticut 78; Michigan St. 60, Maryland 58; Oklahoma 65 vs. Butler 54; Syracuse 79 vs. Auburn 78.

REGIONAL FINALS

Marquette 83, Kentucky 69; Kansas 78, Arizona 75; Texas 85, Michigan St. 76; Syracuse 63, Oklahoma 47.

SEMIFINALS

Kansas 94, Marquette 61

Marquette: Travis Diener 1-11, 2-2, 1, 5; Robert Jackson 6-12, 3-4, 9, 15; Dwayne Wade, 7-15, 4-8, 6, 19; Scott Merritt 5-14, 2-2, 11, 12; Todd Townsend 0-3, 1-2, 2, 1; Steve Novak 1-7, 0-0, 3, 2; Karon Bradley 1-7, 0-0, 1, 3;Terry Sanders 1-1, 0-0, 4, 2; Joe Chapman 0-3, 0-0, 0, 0; Chris Grimm 1-1, 0-0, 1, 2; Jared Sichting, 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Tony Gries 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 23-74, 12-18, 38, 61.

Kansas: Keith Langford 11-14, 1-3, 5, 23; Aaron Miles 7-12, 2-3, 5, 18; Nick Collison 6-7, 0-0, 15, 12; Jeff Graves 2-4, 1-4, 9, 5; Kirk Hinrich 6-13, 3-4, 1, 18; Michael Lee 4-8, 2-2, 6, 13; Bryant Nash 1-4, 1-1, 4, 3; Jeff Hawkins 0-3, 0-0, 0, 0; Stephen Vinson 0-2, 0-0, 1, 0; Moulaye Niang 1-3, 0-0, 1, 2; Brett Olson 0-1, 0-0, 2, 0; Christian Moody 0-0, 0-0, 2, 0. TOTALS: 38-71, 10-17, 51, 94.

Halftime: Kansas 59, Marquette 30. Three-point field goals: Marquette: 3-16 (Diener 1-5, Wade 1-1, Townsend 0-1, Novak 0-5, Bradley 1-3, Chapman 0-1); Kansas: 8-19 (Langford 0-1, Miles 2-4, Hinrich 3-7, Lee 3-3, Nash 0-1, Hawkins 0-2, Vinson 0-1). Disqualifications: None. Attendance: 54,432.

Syracuse 95, Texas 84

Syracuse: Carmelo Anthony 12-19, 6-7, 14, 33; Gerry McNamara 6-12, 4-4, 3, 19; Hakim Warrick 6-11, 6-8, 7, 18; Craig Forth 0-0, 2-4, 4, 2; Billy Edelin 2-6, 1-2, 3, 5; Josh Pace 5-6, 2-2, 3, 12; Jeremy McNeil 0-0, 2-2, 1, 2; Kueth Duany 1-2, 1-2, 1, 4. TOTALS: 32-56, 24-31, 36, 95.

Texas: Brandon Mouton 9-23, 2-2, 3, 25; T. J. Ford 3-8, 5-6, 4, 12; Royal Ivey 1-8, 2-2, 0, 4; James Thomas 4-7, 5-11, 9, 13; Brad Buckman 6-6, 2-5, 7, 14; Brian Boddicker 3-5, 3-4, 5, 12; Sydmill Harris 1-5, 0-0, 0, 3; Jason Klotz 0-0, 1-2, 1, 1; Deginald Erskin 0-1, 0-0, 2, 0; Terrell Ross 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 27-63, 20-32, 31, 84.

Halftime: Syracuse 48, Texas 45. Three-point field goals: Syracuse 7-13 (Anthony 3-4, McNamara 3-8, Duany 1-1); Texas 10-21 (Mouton 5-9. Ford 1-2, Ivey 0-1, Boddicker 3-4, Harris 1-5). Disqualifications: Forth, Buckman. Attendance: 54,432.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Syracuse 81, Kansas 78

Syracuse: Carmelo Anthony 7-16, 3-4, 10, 20; Gerry McNamara 6-13, 0-0, 0, 18; Hakim Warrick 2-4, 2-4, 2, 6; Billy Edelin 4-10, 4-6, 2, 12; Craig Forth 3-4, 0-1, 5, 6; Josh Pace 4-9, 0-0, 8, 8; Kueth Duany 4-6, 1-2, 4, 11; Jeremy McNeil 0-1, 0-0, 5, 0. TOTALS: 30-63, 10-17, 34, 81.

Kansas: Nick Collison 8-14, 3-10, 21, 19; Kirk Hinrich 6-20, 1-1, 2, 16; Jeff Graves 7-13, 2-7, 16, 16; Aaron Miles 1-5, 0-0, 6, 2; Keith Langford 7-9, 5-10, 2, 19; Michael Lee 2-8, 0-0, 1, 5; Bryant Nash 0-2, 1-2, 1, 1. TOTALS: 31-71, 12-30, 60, 78.