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Georgetown convincingly hands Syracuse its second loss

Thu 15th, January 2009

Washington, DC (Sports Network) - DaJuan Summers had a game-high 21 points, and the 13th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas defeated the eighth-ranked Syracuse Orange, 88-74, in a Big East battle at Verizon Center.

Austin Freeman added 19 points for the Hoyas (12-3, 3-2 Big East), who have won nine of 11. Jason Clark posted 12 points for Georgetown, as the hosts shot a scintillating 59.3 percent from the floor.

"That's a hard team to play against," said Georgetown head coach John Thompson III. "They're an experienced team and they have pieces. We have guys that can make shots, and we did a very good job of throwing it in, throwing back out, getting penetration, throwing it opposite. When we get into the paint and back out, for some reason or another, the ball seems to go in a little more."

The game was never that competitive, as Georgetown took a double-digit lead with just under eight minutes left in the first half and led comfortably the rest of the way.

"I'm just trying to be aggressive and trying to do what the team needs me to in order for us to win," Summers said. "Being a leader...guys follow me, in a sense of being energetic or being vocal. Just trying to do those things consistently is what I was trying to do tonight."

Eric Devendorf led a balanced attack with 20 points for the Orange (16-2, 4-1), who had a seven-game win streak snapped and began a stretch where they play eight ranked opponents in a 10-game stretch. Paul Harris posted 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Rick Jackson had a career-high 17 points and seven boards in the loss.

"It's kind of crazy, but the game started out and we did a good job early on the boards," Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. "(We) had some great opportunities, but missed two or three layups, three or four foul shots in a row. We just could not get anything done and it hurt our defense. I think we didn't play defense the way we've been playing defense all year."

Jonny Flynn posted 14 points and nine assists for Syracuse.

Georgetown jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead on Jessie Sapp's layup four minutes into the contest.

Nikita Mescheriakov later drained two consecutive three-pointers, with the second sparking a 14-0 burst that put the Hoyas up, 34-17, on Clark's three with 5 1/2 minutes to go in the first.

"We are capable of (going on a run like that) on a consistent basis," Summers said. "It's just about us being aggressive, and making the right plays and the right reads, and I think we did that tonight."

Georgetown led, 50-32, at halftime.

Syracuse opened the second half on an 8-0 burst to cut its deficit to 10 on two Harris free throws 3 1/2 minutes into the period.

But the Hoyas responded with a 7-0 run later to take a 67-49 edge on Omar Wattad's three with 10:38 to go, and Georgetown coasted to the victory from there.

Game Notes

Syracuse still leads the all-time series, 43-37...Arinze Onuaku had six points and 11 rebounds for the Orange...The Hoyas made 12-of-21 three-point attempts, compared to just 6-of-16 for Syracuse...Georgetown will take a break from Big East action Saturday to take on ACC power Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium, while the Orange will host Notre Dame on Saturday...Syracuse's Andy Rautins left the game in the first half with a left knee injury and did not return.