Washington, D.C.  –  Sophomore forward Jeff Green (Hyattsville, Md./Northwestern) scored 18 points to lead four players in double figures and No. 23 Georgetown used a pair of second half runs to top Syracuse, 68-53, in front of 18,879 fans on Senior Day at the MCI Center.

It was the second-straight win for Georgetown, as they improved to 19-7 overall and 10-5 in league play.  The Orangemen fall to 18-9 overall and 7-7 in league play.  The win ended Syracuse’s five-game win streak over the Hoyas and GU finished its home slate with an 11-2 record at the MCI Center, its best since making the building a home arena in 1997-98.

Syracuse had trailed by as many as eight points in the second half, but pulled to within four points, 48-44.   The Hoyas, however, used its second 10-2 run over a 2:58 span to take a 58-46 lead with 8:09 remaining.  Senior Darrel Owens (Napoleonville, La./Assumption) scored seven points during the run, capping it with a three-pointer with 8:09 to play.  Syracuse would get no closer than nine points and the Hoyas took their biggest lead of the game, 68-53, on a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Jonathan Wallace (Harvest, Ala./Sparkman) with 1:51 to play.

Georgetown had led by three points at the break, but a three-pointer from Syracuse freshman guard Eric Devendorf tied the game in the openings seconds of the final stanza.  The Hoyas went on a 10-2 run over a 4:09 span – with Wallace scoring five points and Green adding four points – take a 43-35 lead with 15:34 to play.  

Syracuse again climbed back and pulled to within three points, 45-42, on a layup from Devendorf.  Syracuse trailed by only four points, 48-44, when Matt Gorman made a layup with 11:07 to play, but the Hoyas went on another 10-2 run 

Syracuse jumped out to an early 6-2 lead, with Demetris Nichols hitting a layup and a three-pointer, but the Hoyas fought back to tie the game on a Green layup.  The Hoyas led by one point, 16-15, after SU guard Josh Wright hit a fast-break layup, but scored six-straight points over a span of 3:02 to take a 22-15 lead on a pair of Green free throws.  

Back-to-back three-pointers Devendorf cut the lead to one point, 22-21, with 4:59 to play in the half and a pair of free throws from Darryl Watkins tied the game at 27-all with 2:38 to play.  Freshman guard Jessie Sapp (New York, N.Y./National Christian Academy) hit a three-pointer and Hibbert converted a layup and a free throw for a three-point play, giving GU a three-point lead at the break.

Green finished with 18 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had four assists to lead the Hoyas, while Owens added 12 points and four boards.  Senior guard Ashanti Cook (Inglewood, Calif./Westchester) added 10 points and five rebounds and Wallace chipped in 10 points and five rebounds.  Devendorf led Syracuse with 13 points and Darryl Watkins added 12 points and eight rebounds.  Georgetown shot 40.0 percent from the floor (22-of-55), connected on 29.4 percent of its three pointers (5-of-17) and hit 79.2 percent of its free throws (19-of-24).  Syracuse shot 42.0 percent (21-of-50), 28.6 percent from three-point land (6-of-21) and 55.6 from the line (5-of-9).  The Hoyas out-rebounded Syracuse, 39-29, and committed only six turnovers while dishing out 15 assists.

Georgetown has a week off before closing out the regular season on Saturday, March 4 at South Florida.  Tipoff at the SunCoast Dome is slated for 7 p.m.

Georgetown University is a proud member of the BIG EAST Conference – the largest and most diverse athletic conference in the country. It was formed in 1979 and represents the athletic interests of 16 member institutions including the University of Cincinnati, University of Connecticut, DePaul University, Georgetown University, University of Louisville, Marquette University, University of Notre Dame, University of Pittsburgh, Providence College, Rutgers University, St. John’s University, Seton Hall University, University of South Florida, Syracuse .University, West Virginia University and Villanova University. The BIG EAST has captured 25 national championships in six different sports and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series. For more information on Georgetown athletics, please visit www.guhoyas.com. For more information on the BIG EAST Conference and its membership, please visit www.bigeast.org.