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"They have a terrific defense. Their defense keeps you at bay," John Thompson III said. "I thought with a few exceptions we executed our game plan of getting the ball into the middle of the zone and then having that guy find who's open. We got decent looks. The ball didn't go in."
Syracuse, which trailed 31-27 at halftime, scored the first eight points of the second to gain the lead. After that, neither team led by more than three points until Waiters energized the Orange. He fed Melo under the basket for an underhand layup, and after Melo blocked a shot by Mikael Hopkins, Waiters drove the lane and passed back out to Joseph, who drained a 3 for a 54-48 lead with 4:36 left.
Clark came right back for the Hoyas, hitting his first 3-pointer of the game 14 seconds later to make it a three-point game. After turnovers by both teams, C.J. Fair blocked Sims under the basket and Sims missed the follow.
Jardine missed at the shot clock buzzer with just under 2 minutes left and Clark struck again, hitting a long 3 from the top of the key to move the Hoyas within 55-54 with 1:36 left.
Greg Whittington's free throw tied it with 1 minute left and Melo's block on Sims gave the Orange the chance for the win in regulation, but Waiters missed from the top of the key.
In their only loss, the Orange were beaten 38-25 on the glass in that 68-57 setback at Notre Dame last month. Georgetown outrebounded Syracuse 26-17 in a tight first half that was tied five times, with the Hoyas gaining the largest lead, 29-23, on Clark's runner with 1:54 left.
Syracuse regrouped quickly. Waiters fed Joseph for a dunk and two free throws by Brandon Triche had the Orange back within 31-27 at the break.
Georgetown shot 39.4 percent in the period, 3 of 13 from long range, while the Orange, the top shooting team in the conference, shot just 29 percent, going 2 for 11 on 3s.
Syracuse started the second half with that spurt as Sims and Clark each picked up their third fouls in a 26-second span. Jardine ignited the surge with a pretty layup high off the glass and over the outstretched arms of Sims. Jardine, who was fouled on the play, converted the free throw for a three-point play and Triche's 3 from the right wing gave Syracuse a 35-31 lead just over 2 minutes into the half.
Despite the fact that Syracuse leads the Big East in scoring at 78.1 points per game, a low-scoring affair was expected. Georgetown entered the game tops in the Big East in scoring defense, allowing 58.6 points per game, and tops in defending the long ball, allowing a conversion rate of just 27.6 percent. The Hoyas also had limited four Big East opponents to under 50 points, including their last two triumphs, over Connecticut and South Florida.
[Associated Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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