A classic old-Big East rivalry turned Georgetown’s favor, as the Hoyas (7-4, Big East) defeated Syracuse (6-4, ACC), 79-72, Saturday afternoon in the Carrier Dome as adverse weather conditions raged outside. Junior guard L.J Peak led the way for the Hoyas with 23 points and 11 rebounds, his second career double-double, and graduate student guard Rodney Pryor added 20 points for the Hoyas, who shot 47% from the field en route to picking up the rivalry win. Sophomore forward Tyler Lydon scored 29 points on 12-13 shooting for the Orange, who did not muster much offense outside of Lydon’s hot hand.
The win improves Georgetown’s all-time record against Syracuse to 43-49, and marks the Hoyas fourth win in their last five meetings with the Orange. Georgetown is now riding a five game winning streak, which matches last season’s longest such streak.
The Orange jumped out to an early 9-4 advantage courtesy of two made threes by Syracuse guard Andrew White III, but the Hoyas responded with a scoring outburst of their own. The game was back-and-forth for much of the first half, with a Peak pull-up jumper just before the halftime buzzer knotting the score up at 33 apiece. At the half, Peak led all scorers with 12 points, while Lydon contributed nine.
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The pace in the second half was much quicker as both teams looked to take a definitive lead. Both teams exchanged early three pointers and layups. With 15:42 remaining, the teams were still tied at 42. Following a media timeout, a quick hook shot by senior center Bradley Hayes put Georgetown ahead, and the team never looked back. As the half wore on, Pryor and Peak began to catch fire, propelling the Hoyas to a commanding seven point lead with 2:38 left in the game. A series of turnovers brought Syracuse to within three points at the 1:07 mark, but the Orange were unable to gain any more ground. Georgetown, led by Peak, who was 5-5 from the line in the final 30 seconds, drilled its free throws when Syracuse was forced to foul late in the game.
Georgetown started the game with a lineup of freshman guard Jagan Mosely, Peak, Pryor, junior forward Akoy Agau, and sophomore center Jessie Govan. Agau and Mosely combined to play just 14 minutes, however, as junior guard Jonathan Mulmore and sophomore forward Marcus Derrickson provided valuable minutes off the bench. Mulmore contributed five points, three assists, and two steals. Junior forward Reggie Cameron played his most meaningful minutes of the season. Cameron played late in the second half and hit a foul line jump shot to put the Hoyas up by five with 4:00 remaining.
Georgetown will now have five days to rest before its game at home against UNC-Greensboro (8-3, Southern) on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports One.
