Washington, D.C. — Syracuse sophomore guard Judah Mintz led all scorers with 25 points, and fellow sophomore guard J.J. Starling had 14 second-half points and 21 overall to help Syracuse defeat Georgetown 80-68 at Capital One Arena Saturday afternoon in the latest chapter of the programs’ historic rivalry.
Starling’s 21 points were a season-high for the Baldwinsville, N.Y. native and second only to Mintz, who put up 13 of his 25 points from the free throw line to help the Orange move to 7-3 for the season. Sophomore guard Jayden Epps paced the Hoyas with 17 points, while senior center Supreme Cook chipped in with a 16-point, ten-rebound double-double.
After two games coming off the bench, Ismael Massoud got his first start for the Hoyas. It was the latest step in his recovery from a hand injury that sidelined the grad transfer for the first six games of the season. Massoud had just seven points on 3-10 shooting.
The first half was a stop-and-go affair, with 18 fouls handed out by the officiating crew. This included two technical fouls after freshman guard Rowan Brumbaugh was fouled hard by Syracuse forward Chris Bell in transition. Bell and Georgetown senior Wayne Bristol, Jr. came together and exchanged words after the play, resulting in matching technicals for both players.
After a tight first half that finished with the Orange up 35-34, Syracuse began to pull away in the second. Big shots from Starling and sophomore Quadir Copeland broke the game open as the Orange went on a 9-0 run early in the second period. Copeland finished with a career-high 14 points on 6-7 shooting.
Poor three-point shooting plagued the Hoyas, as the team shot just 5-26 (19.2%) from deep on the day. Epps (1-9), Massoud (1-6), and senior guard Jay Heath (1-5) all struggled to find their shots from beyond the arc. Georgetown Head Coach Ed Cooley said after the game, “I think we’re a really, really good three-point shooting team. We gotta give their defense credit.”
Cooley later said of the Hoyas’ choice to keep shooting despite the misses, “Our identity is our ability to shoot the ball, so you don’t want to take away an individual’s gifts.”
The Hoyas shrunk the lead to as few as five points over the final minutes, but another late run from the visitors put the game out of reach. After Copeland slammed home an offensive rebound to make it 74-60, Hoya fans began to head for the exits.
Despite the big lead, the game’s end had one final twist. Mintz was spoken to by referee James Breeding after appearing to taunt the Hoyas’ bench in the final minute. Breeding then gave Mintz his fifth foul for a push-off seconds later, ending the guard’s day 23 seconds early. Cooley said of the perceived taunt, “I didn’t hear what he said… he earned that right by the way he played.”
The contest marked the 99th overall meeting between the historic archrivals; the Orange now lead the series 54-45. Next up for Georgetown is a home date with Coppin State on Tuesday, Dec. 12. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. at Capital One Arena.
