Syracuse Basketball: Tyus Battle’s late game heroics helps Cuse smack Georgetown
The Syracuse basketball squad impressed in its’ first true road test of the season topping Georgetown thanks to some Tyus Battle magic. ITLH breaks it down.
Syracuse basketball took their 8-1 record into a tough road matchup with the undefeated Georgetown Hoyas. After a dreamlike second half and thrilling overtime, they left Washington with a 9-1 record.
In the process Jim Boeheim handed Patrick Ewing his first loss as the head honcho of Georgetown. Lets see how it happened.
Sloppy start for both teams
Despite shutting out Georgetown through the first four-and-a-half minutes, Syracuse managed to only score three points. Just under five minutes into the contest, Hoyas guard Jamorko Pickett tied the game with a three-pointer and Syracuse’ strong defensive start to the game was good for nothing.
10 minutes into the first frame, the Orange and Hoyas were both shooting worse than 30% from the field.
The Orange storm back
With 7:26 remaining, Syracuse ended a two-minute scoring drought when freshman forward Marek Dolezaj made a layup that just beat the shot-clock buzzer.
Down five with 5:30 remaining, Tyus Battle cut the Hoyas’ lead to just two after hitting a deep three-pointer. On their next possession, Syracuse guard Frank Howard found redshirt freshman Matthew Moyer under the basket, and he slammed it down.
After shutting down Georgetown on the ensuing possession, Howard split two Hoyas defenders for an easy layup and tied things up at 18 with 4:13 left in the first half.
After Hoyas guard Kaleb Johnson’s two free throws gave the Hoyas a 21-19 lead with just under four minutes remaining, Battle hit his second three of the half, and the Orange took a 22-21 lead.
After Battle’s three-pointer, Georgetown scored five straight and took a 26-22 lead. Syracuse ended the scoring drought thanks to another brilliant pass from Howard to a cutting Moyer, who finished the job with a dunk that quickly quieted Capital One Arena. However, a late basket on an Oshae Brissett turnover gave the Hoyas a 28-24 at the break.
At the break
Syracuse and Georgetown shot a combined 39% from the field in the first half. Hoyas guard Jagan Mosely scored 10 first-half points on 4-5 shooting. After starting 2-7 from the field, Battle entered the half with 11 points on 4-10 shooting. Howard scored six first-half points on a productive 3-6 shooting.
Sluggish start to second half
Syracuse continued to miss shot after shot, and Georgetown’s big men manipulated the 2-3 zone early on in the second half. The Hoyas found themselves up 36-26 after an 8-4 run to begin the second half.
Oshae Brissett takes over
With 16:04 remaining in the game, Oshae Brissett grabbed an offensive rebound and cut the Hoyas lead to eight. On the ensuing possession, Georgetown scored an easy two and reclaimed a 10 point lead. 20 seconds later, Dolezaj found Brissett in the corner for the open three, and the Syracuse deficit was just seven. After a Marcus Derrickson three-point play, Howard turned the ball over, and Georgetown took a 12-point lead on the ensuing possession. Down 12 with just over 13 minutes remaining, Brissett hit another three, and the Georgetown lead was nine. A few possessions later, Brissett was fouled, hit both free throws, and cut the deficit to seven. After a brutal first half, Brissett quietly had a game-high 13 points on a respectable 4-9 shooting.
With 10:30 remaining, Syracuse found themselves down 13, and for good reason. The Orange were shooting just 35% from the field while the Hoyas were shooting 47% from the floor. After the Hoyas took more than five seconds to inbound the ball, Brissett hit a three, and Syracuse was down just eight points. With more than eight minutes remaining in the game, Brissett had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds on 3-5 shooting from three-point land.
Following Brissett’s monstrous start to the second half, Howard scored two impressive layups and cut the Hoyas lead to just seven. With 7:40 remaining, Howard quietly had a strong 14 points and six rebounds.
After a three-point play from Georgetown, Brissett hit a gorgeous step-back three-pointer and kept the Orange in the contest. Two possessions later, the freshman scored two free throws, and the Orange were down just seven.
Syracuse shows clutch genes down the stretch
With 5:15 remaining, Dolezaj drew a charge, and Georgetown forward Marcus Derrickson was fouled out of the game.
At the four-minute minute mark, Battle hit a clutch three, and the Orange trailed just 65-60. With 1:30 remaining, Battle hit another three and cut the Hoyas’ lead to 69-67. With 1:00 remaining, Howard stole the ball, rushed the floor, scored a layup, and tied the ballgame at 69. After trailing by as many as 13 with 10:58 remaining, the Orange sent things to overtime. Syracuse had not led since 22-21 in the first half.
Battle heats up in overtime
30 seconds into the extra frame, Battle scored his 24th points of the game on a three-pointer as the shot clock expired. Two minutes later, Battle hit another contested three, and the ACC’s second-leading scorer’s point total was 27. With just over a minute remaining, Dolezaj was fouled on an offensive rebound, hit both free throws, and the Orange increased their lead to 81-75.
By the numbers
As a team, the Orange were able to overcome a seemingly unbreakable deficit through strong rebounding. Syracuse outrebounded the Hoyas 44-32, and 21-7 on the offensive end.
Battle scored a ridiculous 29 points, eight of which came in five minutes of overtime. Brissett scored 25 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and single-handedly led Syracuse to overtime. Howard put together a monstrous offensive performance, scoring 18 points and dished out 9 assists. Howard also shined on the defensive end, recording three steals in the win. Dolezaj and Moyer combined for 19 rebounds, most of which came in the late stages of the second half.
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What’s next?
The Orange will look to capture their 10th win of the season this coming Tuesday against Buffalo in the Carrier Dome.