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Syracuse University
vs. Georgetown (BET Quarterfinals)
#11 Syracuse Advances to BIG EAST Semifinals With 74-69 Win Against Hoyas
3/13/2003 9:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NEW YORK – USBWA Freshman of the Year #Carmelo Anthony# scored 21 points and added six rebounds to lead the #11 Orangemen (24-4) to a 74-69 win against Georgetown (15-14) in the ConAgra Foods BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday, March 13, at Madison Square Garden. SU will face Connecticut on Friday at 9:00 p.m. in the semifinals.
Senior #Kueth Duany# scored 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-4 three-point attempts. Sophomore #Hakim Warrick# netted 14 points and grabbed five rebounds. Freshman #Gerry McNamara# added seven points and four steals. The win marked the 13th time this season that Syracuse has erased a second-half deficit to beat its opponent.
Georgetown led as late as the 6:19 mark of the second half, 63-62. Anthony gave the Orangemen the lead for good by connecting on a pair of free throws. After Gerald Riley pulled the Hoyas back to within one, 66-65, neither team could score for the next two and a half minutes. Freshman #Billy Edelin# gave SU a three-point cushion, 68-65, by sinking two free throws with 1:32 left to play. On the next possession, Brandon Bowman, who finished with 18 points for the Hoyas, brought Georgetown back to within one. Duany converted one-of-two at the charity stripe with 33 seconds remaining, and SU led 69-67. He stole the ball back on the ensuing Georgetown possession, and McNamara drew a foul and hit both free throws to put the game out of reach, 71-67, with 20 seconds on the clock. Anthony put an exclamation point on the win with a breakaway dunk in the final seconds.
The Hoyas stayed close to Syracuse the entire game, primarily thanks to Mike Sweetney who had 29 points and 12 rebounds in 40 minutes. The first-team All-BIG EAST selection scored five points, including one of his two three-point plays, in a 7-0 Georgetown run that knotted the score at 11 at the 14:15 mark in the first half. Sweetney opened up the Hoyas' biggest lead, eight points, 25-17, with nine minutes left in the first session by scoring the final three points in GU's 12-2 tear. Georgetown led by eight later in the period, 34-26 with less than five minutes on the clock, but SU surged to take a 39-38 edge in the final 40 seconds of the half. Bowman converted a three-point play to give the Hoyas a 41-39 lead at intermission.
Thursday's win marks the first time SU has defeated Georgetown three times in one year. The Orangemen defeated the Hoyas, 88-80, on Feb. 3 in the Carrier Dome, and triumphed 93-84 in overtime on March 1 at the MCI Center. SU and Georgetown have met three times in a season nine times.
Syracuse's semifinal game against Connecticut will be played at 9:00 p.m. on Friday at Madison Square Garden. The game will be televised on ESPN, and live statistics will be available on www.bigeast.org, provided by Internet Consulting Services of Syracuse.
