SYRACUSE, N.Y., Jan. 18 -- If only Brandon Bowman's right foot hadn't crept ever so slightly over the three-point arc as he let fly a shot with just seconds left in regulation of Georgetown's 78-73 overtime loss to seventh-ranked Syracuse on Tuesday night.
Bowman's shot dropped through the hoop, but it was worth two points instead of three, and as a result it tied the score at 67 with 2.3 seconds on the clock and sent the game into overtime -- just an inch or two farther back, and the Hoyas might have had a stunning but well-deserved one-point win.
Syracuse's Hakim Warrick, who led the Orange with 25 points, is trapped by Georgetown's Brandon Bowman, right, and Darrel Owens.
(Kevin Rivoli -- AP)
|
|
"I guess my shoes are too big," said Bowman, who finished with 19 points. "I wish I was a size 14 instead of a size 17."
Georgetown's final play of regulation was designed for Bowman, the 6-foot-9 junior who already had one game-winning basket this year (a lay-in off of a drive against then-No. 16 Pittsburgh on Jan. 5). With 30 seconds left, Bowman had the ball in his hands and it was up to him as to what to do; when he saw Syracuse guard Gerry McNamara fall for his shot fake, he decided to pull up for what he thought was a three-pointer.
When the final buzzer sounded, Bowman jumped in the air and smiled, thinking the Hoyas had won. Warrick, Craig Forth and Josh Pace all said afterward they too thought the game was over. Said Georgetown Coach John Thompson III, "I thought he was behind the line, but the replay showed he wasn't."
Syracuse (18-1, 5-0) scored the first seven points of overtime. The Hoyas couldn't stop the Orange's standout tandem of McNamara and forward Hakim Warrick, who combined for nine of Syracuse's 11 points in the extra period. McNamara finished with 17 points and seven assists; Warrick had 25 points and 11 rebounds. The Orange looked for Warrick every time they needed a basket in the second half, and he responded by either scoring or getting fouled (he was 11 of 16 from the free throw line).
"That's what good players do," Thompson said of Warrick. "He's hard to guard. He made plays tonight when they needed him to make plays."
Coming away with a victory in front of 23,485 inside the Carrier Dome -- where Syracuse has an .840 winning percentage -- was a tall order for the Hoyas (11-5, 3-2), who haven't beaten a top-10 team in nearly nine years. It didn't help that Georgetown -- which is not deep by any stretch -- was hampered by foul trouble to its top three scorers: Bowman, freshman Jeff Green and junior Ashanti Cook.
Cook, one of the Hoyas' most reliable outside shooters, was limited to 18 minutes; he picked up his fourth foul 75 seconds into the second half. Green fouled out with 4 minutes 44 seconds remaining in regulation and the score tied at 61; he left with 12 points and five assists.
Georgetown may not be the Big East's most talented team -- the conference coaches didn't think too much of the Hoyas' talent when they voted them to finish 11th -- but it must be the league's most resilient. The Hoyas shot 40.7 percent and grabbed 18 offensive rebounds that turned into 22 points. They continued to contest shots and go for steals even after a first half in which the slightest contact seemed to result in a Georgetown foul.
"You feel like your arms have been decapitated," Bowman said of playing with fouls. "But you've got to play through it."
Roy Hibbert, the 7-2 freshman center, had his best game of the season against a Syracuse front court that featured Forth (a 7-footer) and Warrick (6-8). Hibbert, who had struggled in conference play, finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds -- more than he had had in his first four Big East games combined. He was particularly aggressive on the offensive end and had nine offensive rebounds. Hibbert also sparked one 7-0 run midway through the second half by diving to grab a loose ball.
Every time it seemed Syracuse was going to break it open, the Hoyas responded. Wallace, who air-balled his first shot and missed his next four, made three three-pointers in the final three minutes of the first half to keep the Hoyas within four, 36-32, at the break.
Georgetown scored the first eight points of the second half to take a 40-36 lead. Bowman and Green each came up with a steal in that stretch, and each punctuated the theft with a fast-break basket (Bowman opted for a dunk, Green went for a pretty finger roll).
"I was sorry Coach Thompson's back at Georgetown," Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim said. "That's a tremendous performance. That should've been no surprise."
