Spring Break
The Daily OrangeMBB | Capitol punishment: SU loses its two-game winning streak vs. renewed rival Georgetown
By Zach Berman
Posted: 2/27/06, 12:27 AM EST Section: Sports
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WASHINGTON - Jim Boeheim and John Thompson II, rival coaches many years, saw each other in the bowels of the MCI Center on Saturday when Boeheim was leaving. They put their arms around each other, shared a few words and, like the stoic coaches they are, continued on their ways. It was almost an hour after the game ended, a time seldom slotted for coaches to wax.
Boeheim, Syracuse's head coach, and Thompson II, former head coach of Georgetown and father of current Hoyas head coach, John Thompson III, tirelessly coached against each other during the SU-GU rivalry's heyday. In recent seasons, though, the rivalry has been completely one-sided. Syracuse beat Georgetown the last four times the teams played and the Hoyas have lost the bully reputation it carried through the 1980s and 1990s.
That changed on Saturday when No. 23 Georgetown (19-7, 10-5 Big East) topped the Syracuse (19-9, 7-7), 68-53, in front of 18,879 at the MCI Center. It was the Hoyas' first win over SU since 2002 and a fitting one, considering it was Senior Day in Washington and none of the current seniors had ever beaten the Orange. The loss ended Syracuse's two-game winning streak and left it still one shy of the coveted 20-victory mark.
The matchup appeared likely to be a down-to-wire, made-for-television classic duel until the Hoyas were able to pull away in the second half. SU trailed 33-30 at halftime, and Boeheim thought it should have been tied, had a controversial shot clock malfunction not given the Hoyas an additional offensive possession that resulted in a 3-point play.
Not until there were a little more than eight minutes remaining in the game and Georgetown senior Darrel Owens hit a 3-pointer to give Georgetown a 12-point lead to cap an eight-point run did the meter shift entirely to one team's direction.
"It should have been a close game and it was in the first half and we got no help from (the starters) in the first half and less help from them in the second half," Boeheim said. "There are maybe one or two teams in the Big East that if their starters don't play well, they can still win. We're not one of them."
The Orange's starting five combined for just 44 points. Guard Eric Devendorf led SU with 13 points while center Darryl Watkins played one of his better games, scoring 12 points and registering eight rebounds and four blocks. But forwards Terrence Roberts and Demetris Nichols were in foul trouble for most the game, combining for nine points in 41 minutes. Leading scorer Gerry McNamara couldn't find his stroke, either, scoring eight points on 3-of-10 shooting.
