Local Teams

Buddy Boeheim scored 21 points, Joseph Girard III added 18 and host Syracuse beat former Big East rival Georgetown 74-69 Saturday night.

The Orange (7-2) rebounded nicely from blowing a 14-point loss in Wednesday's Atlantic Coast Conference loss to Pittsburgh and handed Georgetown (3-8) its fifth straight loss.

Boeheim finished one point shy of his season high and made 9 of 18 shots as Syracuse shot 43.5 percent. Girard shot 6 of 11, added eight assists and scored Syracuse's last five points by hitting a long jumper with 75 seconds left and two free throws with 40 seconds left.

Quincy Guerrier added 12 and nine rebounds and Marek Dolezaj collected 11 and nine rebounds for Syracuse, which held the lead for the final 26:38 after closing out the first half with a 16-3 run.

Jamorko Pickett led the Hoyas with 17 points and seven rebounds but also shot 5 of 13 as Georgetown shot 43.6 percent. Jahvon Blair added 16 and 10 assists but also committed five of Georgetown's 12 turnovers.

The Hoyas made a late comeback attempt after trailing by 13 at halftime.

Girard's jumper gave Syracuse a 50-34 lead with 16:18 remaining but Blair's layup made it 65-61 with 5:49 left. The Hoyas got within 68-65 on a layup by Jamari Sibley with 3:10 left. Sibley committed a turnover with 2:35 left and Griffin soared in for the dunk seven seconds later to make it 70-65.

Georgetown had a chance to inch closer after Girard missed a free throw with 21 seconds left but Blair missed a jumper four seconds later and the Hoyas committed a turnover on their final possession just before the buzzer.

A 3-pointer by Pickett forged a 27-27 tie with 5:42 remaining but a layup by Dolezaj gave Syracuse the lead for good on the next possession. That basket started a 16-3 run that pushed Syracuse's lead to 43-30 by halftime.

Before the opening tip, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim draped a towel over his shoulder in tribute to former Georgetown coach John Thompson, who died in August.

--Field Level Media