Syracuse men’s basketball squeaks by Georgia Tech in overtime 74-73

SU men's basketball squeaks by Georgia Tech in overtime 74-73

Jimmy Boeheim scored 20 points in the Orange's win over the Yellow Jackets on Monday night.

Story by Paolo Confino / Photos by Kayla Breen

Published: February 21, 2022

Syracuse's Cole Swider points to the sky as he walks off the court with Bourama Sidibe after the Orange defeated Georgia Tech, 74-73, during overtime in an ACC men's basketball game on Monday night at the Carrier Dome.

Syracuse closed out a hard-fought, overtime win against Georgia Tech on Monday night. The Orange beat the Yellow Jackets 74-73 at the Dome after GT missed three opportunities to take the lead in the game’s last seconds.

“When you shoot that poorly, for us to still be able to win the game – t’s a lot of guts, a lot of determination,” coach Jim Boeheim said after the game. “I’m really proud of the way they made those last couple stops. Those were tough plays to make.”

Jimmy Boeheim, finished the game with 20 points, including Syracuse’s final two points which put them up four with 1:56 left in overtime. From then on it was down to the home crowd and Syracuse’s defense to see out the win.

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim points and calls out a play as the Orange bench celebrates.

Syracuse's Buddy Boeheim (35) spins away and seals off Georgia Tech's Michael Devoe.

Syracuse made back-to-back-back defensive stops to end the game. Georgia Tech couldn’t capitalize on two big offensive boards on the second to last possession of the game. They eventually called timeout with three seconds left in the game before guard Michael Devoe missed the final shot.

The need for defense was all the more apparent because of the Orange’s struggles shooting the ball. As a team, they only shot 32.9% from the field.

“It’s seldom Buddy and Jimmy both have bad shooting nights,” Boeheim said. “They both did, Joe did, Cole was a superstar compared to them. And yet we were able to get a stop at the end”

Syracuse's Frank Anselem (5) winds up to swat away a shot from Georgia Tech's Jalon Moore.

Cole Swider put up a double-double with 18 points, on 6-14 shooting, and 12 rebounds. Swider also added one of the biggest shots of the game when he nailed a three at the start of overtime to tie the score at 66-66.

Despite their lackluster shooting night, Syracuse eked out a win against an evenly matched team, which seems like progress considering the difficulties the team encountered earlier this season going through shooting slumps.

“I think it speaks to our team,” Swider said. “I don’t think we win this game three weeks ago, four weeks ago.”