Syracuse dropped to 5-5 on the season after losing to Georgetown at home.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team wilted down the stretch of a rivalry game, losing in the centennial meeting with Georgetown.
In a game that was close throughout with 12 ties and 15 lead changes, Syracuse (5-5, 0-1) couldn’t make the plays it needed late as the Hoyas (8-2, 0-0) escaped with the win. Eddie Lampkin led the way with 18 points and 5 rebounds but it wasn’t enough to overcome Jayden Epps’ 23 point night and another poor outside shooting night for the Orange 4-14.
Adrian Autry went with Jaquan Carlos, Elijah Moore, Chris Bell, Donnie Freeman and Lampkin as his starters.
Syracuse led 9-6 at the first media timeout behind a Lampkin bucket inside and two jumpshots from Donnie Freeman, a pull up two and three-pointer. Georgetown big man Thomas Sorber picked up his first foul on a Bell three attempt, who made two of three from the line from the line. Naheem McLeod checked in first off the bench following the first media timeout.
Georgetown responded with a 6-0 run before Moore connected on a corner three off a cross court pass from McLeod. Lampkin came back in shortly after with Jyare Davis, followed by Kyle Cuffe. Lucas Taylor checked in to round out the rotation after the second media timeout. Georgetown led 20-17 following five straight Malik Mack points.
Davis drew Sorber’s second foul at the 8:20 mark in the first half, with Ed Cooley choosing to let him play with two, at least initially. Davis made both free throws and then scored on a mid-range jumper after Georgetown went 2-3 zone. Sorber came back and finished a three point play to knot the game at 25. Then Bell, a shooting threat despite recent struggles, checked back in for Taylor as Cooley stayed in the zone.
With Syracuse leading 27-25, Cooley sat Sorber at the 6:23 mark. Despite Syracuse going into Lampkin down low, the Orange couldn’t extend or maintain its lead going into the half. The game was tied 37 at the break with Georgetown owning a 10-1 fast break points edge, 26-20 points in the paint advantage while Syracuse held the edge on the glass 20-16. Davis and Lampkin had double-figures by the half while Sorber and Jayden Epps had ten points each for the Hoyas.
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Syracuse once again was intent to work the ball down low to Lampkin, but with the defense failing to provide resistance, the Hoyas jumped out to reclaim the lead. Georgetown went up by as much as eight when Autry motioned to Petar Majstorovic to go in, but after a Lampkin score inside he was motioned back to the bench. Lampkin scored again to cut the lead back to four.
Moore was whistled for a foul after that bucket, which resulted players getting chippy with one another. Syracuse’s Taylor was enveloped in a heated interaction with the Georgetown bench when double technicals were called on he and Georgetown’s Drew Fielder, which offset. The foul calls prompted Syracuse fans to chant profanities directed at Georgetown as well as, “let’s go, Orange!” Autry encouraged the crowd by waving his hands up, looking to inject life into a previously muted game.
Taylor scored on an offensive rebound and putback. Then a Moore three from the corner cut it to one, resulting in the Syracuse bench doing his signature elbow celebration. Syracuse reclaimed the lead on a pair of Carlos free throws, which drew Sorber’s third foul with 10:24 to play. Carlos would hit six straight free throws to extended the lead to 61-58. Then, an and-one by Davis gave Syracuse a six point lead with 8:32 to play.
Georgetown scored back to back buckets to trim Syracuse’s lead to 64-62 at the penultimate media timeout. Down the stretch Cooley went back to the zone and Moore hit on a fadeaway two before Georgetown took the lead back 67-66 on an Epps tripled. Carlos responded in kind with a corner three to reclaim the lead 69-67.
Freeman sat for much of the second half but was reinserted back into the game with 1:54 for Davis. Bell checked back in for Taylor. Syracuse struggled to get Lampkin the ball down low after Georgetown went 2-3 zone. Freeman, cold coming back into the game off the bench, had a look at three to tie but missed. Epps scored with 21.4 seconds left to give Georgetown a 74-69 lead.
Carlos hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to three and Syracuse showed press but couldn’t get the turnover it needed as Mack was fouled and split a pair that sealed the game.
Next Up
Syracuse has a week before its next game, heading back to Brooklyn on Saturday for a neutral court meeting with Maryland. That game tips at noon from the Barclays Center and airs on ESPN.