A concerned Chris Murphy sat on the Union College basketball bench, waiting for the second half to begin Tuesday night.

The Dutchmen came out flat and trailed at the break.

Senior Wade McNamara sat down next to Murphy, his head coach.

"He pats me on the leg and says, 'Coach, we're going to be ready to go,' " Murphy recalled of the brief conversation.

When the second half started, McNamara backed up his reassuring words. He set up teammate Deshon Burgess for a 3-pointer, grabbed a rebound and then drained a 3-pointer.

A five-point deficit disappeared in less than four minutes and Union went on to beat Rochester Institute of Technology, 71-70. McNamara finished 20 points and 10 rebounds, his 10th double-double of the season.

It was another example of the impact that McNamara, an athletic 6-foot-4 wing from East Lyme, has had on the Union basketball program this season. He's grown tremendously since his freshman season at Division III school in Schenectady, N.Y.

"He's a special kid," Murphy said. "He plays so hard and puts his body on the line. He sets an example for the other guys. We take pride in with how hard we play and how hard we compete. I don't think you can get a much better example of that than Wade.

"Obviously, he's a super talented kid, probably our most athletic player and arguably our best shooter. He plays the wing for us and he leads the (Liberty) league in rebounding, which I think say a little bit about how hard he plays. ... Defensively, he can guard any position."

A respected team captain, McNamara is finishing out his career in style, averaging career bests in points (15.3) and rebounds (9.9). He ranks first on the team in 3-pointers made (39) and steals (25).

With McNamara leading the charge, Union has won seven of its last eight to improve to 12-8 overall, 8-4 in the Liberty League. He credits his work ethic as well as his teammates and coaching staff for his success.

"I knew my role was going to step up," McNamara said. "There was a guard (Terel Winney) here my freshman and sophomore year that I was able to learn a lot from. I'm just trusting my coaches and my teammates and their confidence in me to knock down shots. I just worked as hard as I possibly could in the off-season during the summer."

McNamara worked out at UConn-Avery Point and Connecticut College last summer, preparing for his senior season. He also played in the Greater Hartford Pro-Am league for the second straight year.

This season, he's more than doubled his rebounding numbers from last season, vastly improving on his 4.2 average from last season.

"I've been lifting for quite awhile and knew that was something that I needed to work on," McNamara said. "I was getting pushed around my freshman and sophomore year. I'm also pretty athletic, so I can go up and get the ball."

A member of The Day's All-Area team as a senior at East Lyme High School, McNamara's also had some terrific all-around games.

In early December against Ithaca College at Union's Viniar Athletic Center, McNamara poured in career highs for points (37) and rebounds (21) to go with four assists in a 91-77 win.

"It definitely surprised me," McNamara said. "I knew I had 37 points, but the 21 rebounds came out of nowhere. I've had games where I've had 25 points but those were so sporadic that it wasn't a consistent thing with me. To have a big game like that, especially during my senior year, it was nice.

"It surprised some of my teammates as well. My coach said it didn't surprise him."

Murphy, a former Union player, called it the greatest performance ever at the Viniar Athletic Center, which opened in 2005.

"It was just a phenomenal effort," Murphy said. "We didn't really go out of our way that often to get him the ball. He did a lot of it on his own and in flow of the offense, which was special. He followed that up with 21 points and 17 rebounds two days later."

Murphy added that McNamara is playing with confidence and a sense of urgency.

McNamara just tries to set a positive example for his teammates through his actions and effort.

"If I continue to go out there and work hard and set that example for the younger players to show them if I go out there and do what I'm supposed to do and just go 100 percent 100 percent of the time, things will happen," McNamara said.

His decision to attend Union has worked out well. He's enjoying the athletic and academic experience. A political science major, he plans to go into education after graduating this spring.

He's applying to jobs in Washington, D.C., New York, Boston and Providence.

"I'm really looking getting into teaching," McNamara said. "Both of my sisters were teachers and are now working in education. ... Watching them affect the lives of children who deserve a great education inspired me to go down the same path. ... The charter schools that I'm looking to get into really focus on low economic situations, usually where kids notoriously haven't achieved as high."

On the basketball court, McNamara has hit a temporary speed bump, suffering a concussion on Tuesday while battling for a rebound. He expects to return to action this season.

It's a toss-up whether McNamara will miss Union more than Murphy will miss his standout player.

"Whenever he decides to hang up his sneakers, whatever company or organization is lucky enough to employ him is going to get somebody that's going to make that place better just because of the type of person he is," Murphy said. "He's going to be successful whatever he does."

g.keefe@theday.com