Syracuse freshman guard Jonny Flynn scored a game-high 24 points but was held without a basket from the nine-minute mark of the second half, including a missed game-winning 3-point attempt at the overtime buzzer that allowed No. 9 Georgetown to escape with a 64-62 victory in front of sellout crowd of 20,035 at Verizon Center.
The Hoyas (15-2, 5-1 Big East) led by as many as 11 points in the first half, but it was the Orange (13-7, 3-4) who were up, 60-55, after a bucket by Donte’ Greene (15 points) with 2:00 remaining in the game.
Jessie Sapp (11 points, seven rebounds, five assists), whose 3-pointer and fast-break layup sent the game into overtime tied at 60, hit two free throws to put the Hoyas ahead for good while Syracuse missed 5 of 7 attempts from the line in the extra period.
Roy Hibbert led the Hoyas 15 points and nine rebounds. Arinze Onuaku (Episcopal Prep) had 12 points and 13 boards for the Orange.
The Hoyas avoided a showdown with the Orange’s 2-3 zone in the first half by pushing the ball in transition (14 first-half points off turnovers and fast breaks) and nearly broke the game open before halftime with a barrage of 3-pointers.
After falling behind early, Georgetown used a 10-2 run punctuated by Sapp slicing through a slow-reacting defense to put the Hoyas up, 22-18, forcing a Syracuse timeout with 8:55 left before the break.
Jonathan Wallace (15 points) broke out of a 2-for-10 funk from behind the arc, hitting his first three 3-pointers as Georgetown led by as many as 11 points before Flynn drove the lane and hit a three to cut the deficit to 36-29 at halftime.
