The Hoyas led 36-21 at the break, but the Orangemen scored the first seven points of the second half, pulling to within eight points, 36-28, on a Darryl Watkins slam.  The Hoyas pushed the lead back up to 12 points, 44-32, on a driving layup from senior forward Brandon Bowman (Santa Monica, Calif./Westchester), but the Orange went on a 17-5 run over a 5:25 span, tying the game at 49-all on a Matt Gorman three with 7:18 to play.  McNamara, who played all 20 minutes in the second half, connected on two three-pointers during the run.

Georgetown immediately took the lead back, with sophomore center Roy Hibbert (Adelphi, Md./Georgetown Prep) converting a three-point play for a 52-49 lead.  The teams traded baskets and the Hoyas took a 57-53 lead with 2:15 to play when Hibbert hit one of two free throws.  The Hoyas, who hit 10 free throws in the final minute during a 62-59 win over Marquette in the quarterfinals, hit only one of five during a two-minute span and maintained the 57-53 lead when McNamara hit a three with 48 seconds left.

The Hoyas had jumped out a 15-point lead at the half thanks in part to hot shooting from the outside.  Georgetown connected on 59.1 percent (13-of-22) of its first half shots, including 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from outside the arc as they took a 36-21 lead.    The Hoyas’ seven three-pointers were the second-most in a half this season.  A three-pointer from sophomore Jonathan Wallace (Harvest, Ala./Sparkman) and a steal and layup from senior Ashanti Cook (Inglewood, Calif./Westchester) gave the Hoyas a quick 5-0 lead, the first time they had scored the opening baskets during the tournament.  Syracuse pulled to within one, 5-4, but the Hoyas reeled off seven-straight points – a reverse from Wallace, a three from Bowman and a Cook layup – to take a 12-4 lead. 

Syracuse would pull to within six points on two occasions, the last at 14-8 after a Darryl Watkins dunk.  The Hoyas sandwiched a Hibbert reverse around three-pointers from senior Darrel Owens (Napoleonville, La./Assumption) and Wallace, increasing the margin to 10 points, 22-12.   A three-pointer from Demetris Nichols pulled Syracuse to within 25-17, but the Hoyas outscored Syracuse 10-4 over the final five minutes of the half to take a 35-21 lead at the break. During the late run, Owens and Cook both connected on three-pointers.

Georgetown connected on just 47% (8-17) of its free throws and was 7-for-20 from behind the arc.  After shooting just 25% from three-point range in the first half, Syracuse hit six three-pointers in the second half and finished 8-18 for the game.  Bowman had a team-high 12 points while Green and Wallace each chipped in 10.  Hibbert had a game-high 13 rebounds, nine points and blocked three shots.

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.