Syracuse Survives Georgia Tech in Overtime
Georgia Tech missed four shots on the final possession and Syracuse escaped the Carrier Dome with a 74-73 win in overtime. The Orange improved to 15-12 (9-7) on the season. Next up is a matchup at Notre Dame on Wednesday.
After Buddy Boeheim missed a three with just 43 seconds left in the extra session, Georgia Tech had a chance to take the lead down by just one point. Instead, Kyle Sturdivant drove and attempted to pass inside where the Yellow Jackets have had success all night. The ball went wide of his intended target and out of bounds with less than 30 seconds left.
Syracuse had taken care of the basketball all game, but Buddy was stripped near midcourt and the ball bounced off his knee out of bounds. Georgia Tech had another change to take a late lead. That one chance would turn into four.
First Michael Devoe missed a three, then Jordan Usher got the rebound and kicked it back out to Devoe for another jumper that also missed. A Coleman offensive rebound, dishes to Khalid Moore who was blocked by a trio of Cole Swider, Jimmy Boeheim and Bourama Sidibe. A jump ball was called on the block with 3.3 seconds left. With the possession arrow in its favor, Georgia Tech had one more shot.
Moore inbounded to Devoe who pump faked, took a dribble and stepped into an open jumper. The ball rimmed out and Syracuse was victorious.
The game almost did not go to overtime, however. With the score tied, Jimmy Boeheim drove and missed a floater in the lane as the clock expired.
It was a back and forth contest all night. Georgia Tech jumped out to an early nine point lead, but Syracuse battled back to tie it at halftime. Neither team could gain control in the second half.
The Orange was off offensively, shooting just 33% from the floor and 31% from three point range. Syracuse did not score in the final 3:23 of regulation. Georgia Tech shot 39% overall and 33% from beyond the arc while outrebounding Syracuse by nine.
Syracuse made up for that by only turning it over four times compared to 14 from Georgia Tech. The Orange outscored the Yellow Jackets 14-2 in points off turnovers.
Jimmy Boeheim led Syracuse with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Cole Swider added 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Buddy Boeheim scored 15 points, all after halftime. Frank Anselem fouled out, but grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked two shots. Bourama Sidibe scored five points to go along with five rebounds, two steals and a block. Sidibe made some critical plays down the stretch in overtime to keep plays alive and alter shots inside.
Georgia Tech's leading scorer, Michael Devoe, was held to 14 points on 5-15 shooting. Rodney Howard paced the Yellow Jackets attack with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
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