Highlights and Recap: Georgetown 79 Syracuse 75
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Syracuse Orange fell to the Georgetown Hoyas in their yearly rivalry meeting 79-75 after a blowing a 10 point halftime lead.
“I don’t think we’re capable right now,” Jim Boeheim said. “We had a good chance to sneak this one out... we’re not playing good enough basketball right now.”
The Orange were overwhelmed in the second half, getting outscored by 14 after intermission.
Buddy Boeheim led SU in scoring with 17 points, but went 1-4 in the final seven minutes of the game. He had shot 0-9 from deep over the Florida State and Villanova games, but made three from beyond the arc on Saturday.
“It felt good, continuing to believe in myself, believe in my shot,” Buddy Boeheim said. “Having teammates and coaches that just tell me to keep shooting no matter what always means a lot.”
The game started out with a quick lead for Syracuse, including the first Buddy Boeheim made three-pointer since the Indiana game, and then a quick 6-0 run for Georgetown to take the lead for the first time.
Kaiden Rice, star Hoya guard, made 3-5 from deep in the first six minutes, adding onto his record-breaking tally of 10 made three-pointers, a Georgetown record, against UMBC in their last game.
Frank Anselem was the surprise of the first half, scoring five points on 2-2 shooting (one free throw) in his first four minutes played.
“I kinda have an idea now that he doesn’t really dip into his bench, so if gets into the bench you have to contribute instantly,” Anselem said. “And if I’m able to do that, and show them all the time, Imma spark the team and get a run going, and, you know, I’ll just keep doing that. That’s what the team needs.”
Anselem came into the game replacing Jesse Edwards, who was offensively efficient at 6-7 shooting and eight rebounds, but defensively a liability.
“Jesse started the game and just forgot what he was doing on defense,” Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. “I don’t know why he would do that, there’s no reason to do that, but he did. And he’s got two wide-open shots and the missed dunk - he just didn’t want to play his position. Killed us at the start of the game.”
The bench overall scored nine points in the first half, with Anselem, Benny Williams and Symir Torrence all adding to the totals.
Syracuse went on a 9-0 run to go up 21-16, but the former Big East rivals battled back and forth until a strong run from the Orange had them up 37-28, a 16-7 run since the 21-all tie.
Both squads fought the end of the first half hard, only scoring seven to six in the final three minutes for the Orange to take a 44-34 halftime lead.
Joe Girard led all scorers at the half, scoring 13 points and tallying four assists. The Orange shot 53% from the field and 5-12 on three pointers for a very productive half.
Syracuse also scored 22 points in the paint, a huge stat as the starting guards can live on the perimeter at times. Shooting 12-20 inside the three-point line tends to help.
Georgetown actually shot better from three at the half, 46% compared to 42%, but scored six fewer field goals. The Hoyas also failed to produce a double-digit scorer and only had eight assists.
The second half started rough for the Orange, allowing nine and only scoring five in the opening four minutes. Georgetown finally tied things up at 51-all with 13:21 to go, clawing back from a 10-point deficit. This tie was the first time the Hoyas weren’t trailing since the 8:49 mark in the first half.
Aminu Mohammed drove that run, hitting the 15-point mark on the night.
“As a team we talked and came together, they told me ‘the middle is going to be open’,” Mohammed said, “When they find me, I’ll be able to make a play.”
Mohammed would finish with 23 points shooting 7/14, leading all scorers.
After a made three plus the and-one foul, the Hoyas finally retook the lead after not leading since the 8:49 mark in the first half. The final few minutes were the makings of a classic SU-Georgetown game: tight, high-energy, and nerve-wracking.
Since the Hoyas built a six-point lead with 8:08 remaining, Syracuse has brought it back and forth down to the wire. From the 6:05 mark to 1:12, no team held a lead of more than a single point.
That is until Rice finally hit another clutch three. Moments after a Jimmy Boeheim bucket gave Syracuse a one point edge, Rice's shot put the Hoyas up 75-73 with just 1:08 remaining.
Swider’s attempt to respond with a deep three was no good, and Georgetown made a pair of free throws. Joe Girard followed that up with a layup plus the foul, but missed the subsequent free throw. The Hoyas made more free throws to ice the game.
“I don't think anything needs to be said to him,” Georgetown head coach Patrick Ewing said on half. “He’s a very good player. They say cream needs to rise to the top and he’s rising.”
This win was Georgetown’s first over the Orange since 2019, and extends their winning streak over SU in the Capital One Arena to two.
Next up for the Orange will be against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks of the Patriot League on Dec. 18. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.
