Porter, Georgetown, too much for Syracuse

Otto Porter single-handedly took over the game with the flick of his wrist.

In a game where neither team shot particularly well, the Georgetown forward scored 33 points and the No. 11 Hoyas (21-4, 11-3) upset No. 8 Syracuse (22-5, 10-4) 57-46 Saturday. Both teams shot below 36-percent from the field, and neither team could find its shot from behind the arc.

Photo: Taylor Baucom

Freshman guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera goes up for the shot over sophomore guard Michael Carter-Williams in Saturday's game against Georgetown in the Dome.

Highlights from the final Big East match in the Dome

“In games we have lost, we have struggled to shoot the basketball,” head coach Jim Boeheim said. “And today was no exception.”

With all of the hype built up for this game, many thought the record crowd of 35,012 screaming fans would invigorate the Orange. That was clearly not the case.

From the opening whistle, it looked as though SU would run the Hoyas out of the Carrier Dome. Back-to-back three-pointers from Brandon Triche and James Southerland and a dismal 3-15 shooting performance by the Hoyas in the first 10 minutes gave the Orange a 12-7 lead.

But then the Otto Porter show started. He scored 13 points during a 15-3 Hoya run, giving Georgetown a 21-15 lead with under three minutes in the half. The Orange responded with its own 8-0 run to take the lead going into halftime 23-21.

The Orange did not carry its momentum from the first half into the second. They allowed the Hoyas to open the half with a 5-0 run and go up 26-23. Both teams traded buckets, but after Triche tied the game at 29, Porter hit another three-pointer to ignite a 10-2 run.

At that point, both Boeheim and Triche knew they were in some serious trouble.

“With a team where they are very tough defensively, that 9-point lead is like 18 points,” Triche said.

Down 39-31 with 11:26 to go in the game, the Orange needed some spark of offense.  After a four-and-a-half minute scoring drought for Syracuse, Southerland hit a three-pointer to bring the game to within 5, but Porter countered with a quick lay-up with under 8 minutes remaining in the game.

Boeheim recognized the need for another spark, so he called a much-needed time-out with 7:44 left in the game. Coming out of the timeout, the Orange forced two Hoya turnovers, the last one leading to a huge Michael Carter-Williams dunk, bringing the Orange to within 4 with less than 6 minutes to go.

But that was as close as Syracuse would get for the rest of the game. Missed free throws and open shots by Syracuse allowed Georgetown to continue to increase its lead. With under a minute to go, the Hoyas were up 52-42. A few free throws later, and the Hoyas had completed the 57-46 upset.

“Every loss hurts,” Carter-Williams said. “They beat us on our home court, and it is the first time we have lost at home in a long time. It definitely hurts.”