Syracuse Orange head coach Jim Boeheim probably would have liked his 880th career victory to not be so nerve-racking, but at least he got it with a 64-61 victory over the Georgetown Hoyas on Wednesday night. He passed North Carolina's Dean Smith for third all-time on the Division I coaches' win list.
No. 2 Syracuse Vs. No. 12 Georgetown: Jim Boeheim Wins 880th Game With OT Victory
Syracuse Orange head coach Jim Boeheim moved to third all-time on the Division I coaches’ win list with his 880th victory. The Orange defeated the Georgetown Hoyas in overtime.
However, Boeheim certainly wasn’t pleased with how this game went. As he said after the game (via Syracuse.com):
“The only reason we won this game,’’ said Boeheim, “is we hit a couple key shots late and our defense was good late.’’
A large part of that anger with Syracuse’s performance had to deal with the Hoyas winning the rebound battle, 48-30. Boeheim called it a “disaster.”
The Orange overcame a four-point halftime deficit to lead by four points, 55-51, in the final two minutes of play. However, Jason Clark hit a three-pointer and Greg Whittington hit on just one of his two free throws at the one-minute mark that ended the scoring during regulation. In overtime, the Orange outscored the Hoyas, 9-6, but it was Kris Joseph who secured that. He hit a three-point shot with 29 seconds left to put the Orange in the lead and in place for the victory.
Joseph led all scorers with 29 points and played all 45 minutes of the game. He made a career-high six three-pointers, largely a result of Georgetown leaving him open.. Fab Melo followed with 11 points, 7 rebounds and 6 blocks.
Otto Porter led the Hoyas with 14 points and 13 rebounds while Hollis Thompson added 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Hoyas shot just 33.3 percent from the field, but the Orange only shot 34.9 percent.
Syracuse hosts the Connecticut Huskies on Saturday. Georgetown welcomes St. John's to the Verizon Center on Sunday.
For more on these teams, visit Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and Georgetown blog Casual Hoya. Head over to SB Nation NCAA Basketball for more news and notes around the college hoops scene.
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