Hoyas’ hot hands overwhelm Syracuse

But inside Verizon Center, heat is emanating from every part of Georgetown, which on Wednesday played a spectacular first half and finished with its best shooting night of the season – all 11 players who played, scored – in a thorough demolition of Syracuse, 88-74, in front of 19,227.

“I told the team, ‘Everybody played, and everybody made a significant contribution today,’” said Hoyas head coach John Thompson III.

Georgetown (12-3, 3-2 Big East) shot 59 percent from the field (32-for-54) and 57 percent (12-for-21) from 3-point range against the Orange (16-2, 4-1), which boasts one of the best defenses in the country, having held opponents to 39 and 26 percent, respectively, before Wednesday night.

Georgetown did all kinds of things well in its wire-to-wire win that duly impressed Thompson, not only shooting well but making 12 assists and outrebounding the Orange in the first half on the way to an 18-point halftime margin, 50-32.

But what struck Thompson the most about the victory was the way his team fought to restore its groove after Syracuse had cut the deficit down to as little as eight early in the second period.

“We were able to settle in and get back on track,” said Thompson. “That’s something that we were focused and attentive even though we weren’t putting the ball in the basket.”

As explosive as the 13th-ranked Hoyas were in the early going against Syracuse’s heralded 2-3 zone, they were equally deliberate and efficient in the second half, committing just two turnovers despite a lengthy spell of full court, man-to-man pressure. The eighth-ranked Orange got as close as 53-45, but DaJuan Summers (game-high 21 points, 3 assists, 3 blocks) responded with a 3-pointer and that was the last time the lead would drop into single digits.

“We were getting beat in both defenses,” said Syracuse head coach John Boeheim.

While Summers set the tone with aggressive play at both ends, Austin Freeman added a season-high 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field (4-for-5 from 3-point). All three of his first-half 3-pointers were killers, including a 4-point play that made the score, 47-26, with 2:03 left in the half, matching Georgetown’s biggest lead of the game.

Reserves such as guard Jason Clark set career-highs with 12 points in 26 minutes while Julian Vaughan had dished out four assists. Even seldom-used Nikita Mescheriakov made a huge contribution in his first Big East appearance of the season, knocking down consecutive 3-pointers in his lone minute on the floor in the first half. He came into the night having attempted nine 3-pointers all season (hitting two).

“We can sense it when guys are doing what they’re supposed to do,” said Summers. “It’s a good thing for us when everybody’s hitting on all cylinders. I think we’re very capable of doing that on a consistent basis. It’s just about us being aggressive, making the right plays. I think we did that tonight.”