SU hoops ring victorious in Georgetown rivalry game
SU hoops ring victorious in Georgetown rivalry game
On Saturday afternoon, the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team took on the Georgetown Hoyas for the 98th time in this iconic rivalry. With over 20,000 fans in attendance, and on a day when SU head coach Jim Boeheim and hoop legend Dwayne “Pearl” Washington were inducted into the SU Athletics Ring of Honor, the team did not disappoint.
While the Orange were able to get the 83-64 win in a going away manner, the Hoyas came out with the first punch to start the game going on a 9-0 run.
Syracuse was able to get going after their slow start, going on a game changing 16-4 run just before half time to take a 45-34 lead into intermission. After missing their first seven three-point attempts, the Orange were able to hit two threes in a row at the end of the first half.
In the game overall, the Orange shot just 3-14 from three, but it was not the pivotal statistic.
Coach Boeheim said he wasn’t concerned about the lack of threes. He believes the team can be successful without them, as long as the defense continues to improve.
“I think overall, our defense has been getting better, and we just have to continue to improve there,” Coach Boeheim said. “We can score points without threes. We don’t need to make threes.”
SU's Jesse Edwards (14) elevates for a sky hook over Georgetown's Bradley Ezewiro (22) on Saturday.
SU's Judah Mintz (3) is helped up from the floor by his teammates Joe Girard (3) and Jesse Edwards (14) at the JMA Wireless Dome.
As the game went on, the Orange defense locked in and made crucial plays when it was needed most. Leading the defense as usual was senior Jesse Edwards. While Edwards finished the game with 20 points and 11 total rebounds (double-double), his defense stood out as he recorded five highlight-worthy blocks.
Also getting it done on the defensive end was freshman point guard Judah Mintz. With Edwards anchoring the paint, Mintz was able to be a pest on the wing, getting five impactful steals in what was arguably his best defensive performance of the young season.
Mintz spoke about his development as a defender and transitioning from playing man defense at Oak Hill Academy to now being in Boeheim’s infamous zone defense.
“The zone isn’t as simple as people think or make it out to be,” Mintz said. “Just learning the rotations from the time we got here, from the time our first game to now, we’re steadily progressing. Just staying consistent.”
Mintz showed today that he is not only a two-dimensional player on both sides of the ball, but also a true point guard. To go along with his 16 points, Mintz did a terrific job finding the open man as he dished out a season high 10 assists. His performance earned Mintz his first career double-double.
Both guard Joseph Girard III and forward Benny Williams also helped on the offensive end, each scoring in the double digits and throwing perfectly on the free throw line. As a team, the Orange nearly made all of their points on the foul line, going 20-21.
Hoyas head coach Patrick Ewing has been part of this rivalry for over 30 years, not just as a coach, but more famously as a player.
Ewing mentioned both how special it is in this rivalry as both a player and a coach, and how great Pearl Washington was.
“I had the pleasure meeting Pearl back when he was just 15,” Coach Ewing said. “I think he’s definitely one of the best college players to play this game. This rivalry means a lot to me, and means a lot to college basketball.”
Coach Ewing said he was impressed with the play of Edwards and Mintz , who he knows from recruiting him when he attended Oak Hill Academy.
The Orange are going to need the continued excellent play from Mintz and Edwards to keep improving, and increase their chances of participating in March Madness. The Orange’s next game will come on Monday as they host Monmouth at the JMA Wireless Dome at 7 p.m.
is a content editor for the Infodemic project.
is a photographer for the Infodemic project.
