Syracuse 72, Georgetown 71: Syracuse wins in a classic

Syracuse takes down the Hoyas!

Syracuse, New York — In a heated battle from the Carrier Dome, the Syracuse Orange came away with the narrow edge in a 72-71 win over the Georgetown Hoyas. After going down by 13 in the first half, Syracuse battled back and took down their longtime rivals.

The first half started with a ton of energy, as both sides applied pressure on defense and looked to get the ball inside. Elijah Hughes let the fans in attendance sit down with a corner three to start as the Orange regained the lead after Mac McClung got the game going with a three for the Hoyas.

Oshae Brissett’s ability to get to the rim continued in this one, as the Hoyas had to foul the sophomore forward in order to contain him. Even though Brissett got to the line early, the Orange couldn’t buy a bucket early in this one. Syracuse started 1-14 from deep, as they were left forcing up tough shots late in the shot clock.

Howard ended the Syracuse scoring drought with a floater inside as the Orange started to get a little offense going. Hughes and Tyus Battle got to the line, where Battle followed a miss with a layup inside, cutting the Georgetown lead to 15-11.

The Orange simply couldn’t get into a consistent rhythm on the offensive end. Syracuse’s defense was able to keep this thing within grasp in the first half. Battle and Brissett combined for just 10 points on 2-13 shooting in the first half, as the Hoyas took a 35-22 lead heading into the break.

Syracuse blew the door open to start the second half, with a lot more energy than they showed in the first 20 minutes of play. Battle hit a three to get the scoring started for the Orange, and a few steals allowed the Orange to get out in transition.

After struggling to buy a bucket in the first half, Battle had one of his classic second half takeovers, scoring ten quick points to cut the Georgetown lead down to 39-36. He wasn’t settling for threes anymore, as Battle tenaciously attacked the rim and finished plays inside.

The Hoyas were able to extend their lead back up to 48-41, but Brissett got involved with a three, and the Orange went on a 6-0 run to make it a one-point game. Syracuse took the lead on an Elijah Hughes three, and the sharpshooter started to get going.

Hughes, Battle, and Brissett kept the pressure on the Hoyas, as the three perimeter players found a rhythm from deep, but most importantly were attacking paint and finishing plays inside. With the Hoyas answering most of the Orange’s runs, Hughes was able to stay hot from deep, hitting one of his four threes to give the Orange a 60-54 lead with 7:21 remaining.

The Hoyas were able to tie it at 60 a piece, but Battle answered the Georgetown run by getting fouled shooting a three and hit two from the line. Georgetown answered Battle’s free throws with a three on the wing to help them regain the one-point lead. After extending their lead to three with two free throws, the Orange answered with an alley-oop from Battle to Paschal Chukwu to cut it to one.

Syracuse retook the 67-66 lead on a Jalen Carey three off of a broken play. A turnaround jumper by Govan, however, gave the Hoyas the lead right back. The two teams then exchanged threes, as the score remained a one-point advantage in Georgetown’s favor.

Battle then missed a runner, but Marek Dolezaj took the charge giving the Orange one last shot down one with 10.6 seconds remaining. Battle came through and hit the pull up jumper to give the Orange a one-point lead with 2.5 seconds remaining. The Hoyas missed the desperation heave, and the Orange took home the win.

Check out our video recap from Dylan Finer: