Syracuse’s Tyus Battle Sinks Game Winner Over Georgetown

By Tim Leonard

CitrusTV Basketball Reporter

The Carrier Dome crowd rose to its feet as Syracuse inbounded the basketball. SU trailed by one with 10.6 seconds left with the ball and the length of the court to go. Junior guard Tyus Battle dashed down the court, rolled around a screen, pulled up from just inside the three-point line and nailed the eventual game-winning jump shot with 2.8 seconds left.

 “He’s made a lot of big shots,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said, “probably as much or more than any body we’ve ever had here.”

Battle went just one for eight in the first half as Syracuse shot just 25 percent (7-28) from the field and only 7 percent (1-14) from beyond the arc. The Hoyas took a 35-22 lead into the locker rooms thanks in large part to the play of freshman Mac Mcclung. The Georgetown guard tallied 13 points in the first half. The Hoyas also outrebounded the Orange 28-19 in the first 20 minutes. But in the second half, though, SU looked like a different team. Elijah Hughes drilled timely three-pointers, Tyus Battle attacked the basket, finishing with a game-high 26 points, 21 of which came after the halftime break. and despite some foul trouble, Syracuse came storming back, to win 72-71 Saturday afternoon.

“I challenged him at halftime,” Head Coach Jim Boeheim said.

Senior point guard Frank Howard and senior Paschal Chukwu both fouled out. However, with freshman Jalen Carey at the point and slender Marek Dolezaj anchoring the back-half of the zone, Syracuse picked up the pace on offense and got the crowd involved.

With 24,082 in attendance on Saturday, it wasn’t the size of the Georgetown crowds from the Big East days, but the sound was similar. Patrick Ewing and Jim Boeheim getting animated. Tyus Battle dropping fist pumps like never before. The rivalry felt renewed even for just one night.

Now with the planned extension of the ACC conference schedule next year and no Georgetown game planned for next year as of now, Syracuse has a decision to make: do they want to keep the annual meeting going?

“We gotta be concerned with what’s best for Syracuse,” Boeheim said. “We’d like to play the game if we can.”

tjleonar@syr.edu | @Tim_Leonard4