Professional box lacrosse's Syracuse experiment ended the way it began three seasons ago - a lot of hope and promise in the early stages followed by the project blowing up in its face.

The Smash, headed to another city or another owner, led league-leading Toronto 6-4 following one quarter Saturday crowd before an unannounced crowd of several hundred fans in the War Memorial. By halftime it was 14-6 Toronto, and the defending National Lacrosse League champions had wrapped up first place and home field throughout the upcoming playoffs. The final score was 25-11.

The Smash, meanwhile, concluded its season at 1-11 and in last place for the third consecutive year. It also finished last in goals, last in goals allowed and - most importantly - last in attendance, which has owner Howard Dolgon hanging the "For Sale" sign on the team's front door.

"It's been a long haul," Smash coach Pat Donahue said, measuring his words carefully because Dolgon has yet to make an official announcement concerning the team's future. "We always felt we were so close, but we never got over the hump. Each game that passed had a cumulative effect on our confidence. We never had any confidence to feed off of."

A 6-30 franchise record will do little for a team's confidence. The Smash thought it had gained some last week when it knocked Pittsburgh out of the playoffs with a dramatic double-overtime victory. And it played with confidence for 15 minutes Saturday, pulling away from a 3-3 tie with two blasts from Bruce Alexander and a nice end-to-end finish from defenseman Tony Million for a 6-3 lead late in the opening stanza.

From there, though, it was downhill for Syracuse, as Toronto scored 11 goals in the next 10 minutes, 46 seconds to emphatically put to rest any question of another Smash upset. The Rock, known for its deliberate defensive style, put on an offensive clinic, as nine different players scored during the run.

The way in which the goals were scored was as impressive as the offensive balance. Running a basic pick-and-roll to perfection, an amazing procession of Rock players took turn getting wide open for point-blank shots on the Smash doorstep. Goalies Derek Collins, Ross Cowie, and then Collins again, were powerless to do much about it.

"I don't know what happened in the second quarter," Donahue said. "It's tough to put a finger on. It just seemed as if everybody shut down. Through a long and trying season I really thought our guys hung together and stayed away from the individual stuff with maybe one or two exceptions. The second period tonight was one of those exceptions."

While Toronto's offense sizzled, the Smash attack hibernated for 21:22, a long snooze that finally ended when Jeff Klodzen finally beat Bob Watson midway through the third quarter. By then the Rock (9-3), which averaged just under 12.5 goals a game in its first 11 games, was on the road to more than doubling its average.

"Toronto is a great team," Donahue said. "They play very well together as a team, and (captain Jim) Veltman is amazing, the way he can silently dominate a game. He controls all the loose balls and is a great leader. Any coach would love to have him."

Veltman and Toronto will play Philadelphia next week at Maple Leaf Gardens in the first round of the playoffs. Rochester will travel to Buffalo for the other game.

The Smash, which got three goals from Eric Seremet and two from Alexander and Del Halladay, apparently will be traveling, too.

Its destination, though, isn't clear at the moment.

BOX SUMMARY
                                  1  2  3  4     TOT
Toronto Rock (9-3)                4 10  5  6  --  25
Syracuse Smash (1-11)             6  0  5  0  --  11

TORONTO ROCK                  SYRACUSE SMASH
               G - A   PTS                   G - A   PTS

Individual stats currently unavailable.

Shots on goal           60    Shots on goal           41
Saves made by           30    Saves made by           35
   Watson                        Collins
                                 Cowie


*** ALL STATS UNOFFICIAL UNTIL VERIFIED ***