The Georgetown Hoyas made a statement today at Capital One Arena, knocking off the Syracuse Orange 89-79 to win their third game in a row. The victory snaps a 2-game losing streak to the Orange and marks Patrick Ewing’s first win as a head coach over Jim Boeheim.
Georgetown’s guards set the tone for this contest. Sophomore Mac McClung led the Hoyas in scoring with 26 points on 7-16 shooting. Senior Jagan Mosely turned in his best offensive performance as a Hoya, adding 16 points on 5-8 shooting along with 7 rebounds and 5 assists.
The Hoyas were scorching hot from three early, using quick ball movement and extra passing to carve up the Syracuse 2-3 zone. Georgetown shot 7-12 (58.3%) from deep and got to the line 19 times (converting on 15) in the first half. Terrell Allen was crucial in breaking down the zone, facilitating the offense and using dribble penetration when necessary to force the zone to collapse. This created openings on the outside for the Hoyas to convert.
Mosely was tasked with slowing down Syracuse’s top weapon for most of the first half, Elijah Hughes. Hughes helped keep the Orange within arm’s distance of the Hoyas early on, scoring 18 points on 7-11 shooting in the first. Junior Marek Dolejaz also continued his annual tradition of giving Georgetown fits, adding 10 first half points of his own.
Georgetown gained separation from the Orange, closing the first half with a 14-2 run. McClung added 11 of those 14 points, barraging Syracuse with his athleticism and play-making ability. This burst sent the Hoyas into halftime with a 48-36 lead.
The second half featured exciting back-and-forth basketball as the teams played each other fairly evenly. After only scoring three points in the first, Omer Yurtseven woke up in the second to help captain the Hoya offense. Omer struggled with the Orange zone early on, turning the ball over 6 times in the game as the Orange consistently sent three players to swarm the Turkish native every time he touched the ball. Yurtseven chipped in a quiet 19 points and 9 rebounds by the end of the day.
Buddy Boeheim did his best Steph Curry impersonation though, erupting for a team-high 25 total points, all coming in the second half. Outside of Buddy’s heroics, the Orange’s top offensive players went MIA. Hughes was held to only 7 points on 1-7 shooting in the second half by Mosely. He finished with 21 points, 9 assists, and 6 rebounds.
Three point specialist Jahvon Blair helped spark the Hoya offense in the second half, burying two timely threes and converting on crucial passes. The “Blair Swish Project” finished with 9 points on 3-8 shooting, three rebounds, and three assists. Ewing needs Blair to step up and be a regular contributor with the departures of Galen Alexander and Myron Gardner. This was a great first step.
Ultimately, this was a statement game in regards to Georgetown’s maturity and focus. Most squads would wilt under the pressure of losing four key contributors. But this is a veteran-heavy team whose head is clearly in the right place. This could not have been better exemplified through an MVP-level performance from Jagan today. Mosely is this team’s unofficial captain and has utilized his leadership to galvanize this team.
One thing that bears watching is the minutes of the five starters, Blair, and Qudus Wahab. Ewing elected to only shorten his rotation to 6 players in the second half. The Georgetown faithful better hope Ewing’s conditioning program this summer worked.
Regardless, this was an impressive team win that the Hoyas had to have. The talent is there. The focus and maturity are there. This is shaping up to be a fun season. Hoya Saxa.
