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'Cuse knocks off Hoyas for fourth straight win

Feb 26, 2011 - 10:13 PM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Scoop Jardine scored 17 points and Brandon Triche drained four key free throws in the final minute to help 17th-ranked Syracuse earn a 58-51 victory over No. 11 Georgetown at the Verizon Center.

Rick Jackson contributed 12 points for the Orange (24-6, 11-6 Big East), who have won four in a row to remain alive for a double-bye in the Big East Tournament. Syracuse, which has rebounded nicely after a 2-6 stretch, will close the regular season next Saturday at home against DePaul.

Triche finished with nine points for Syracuse, which gained a split of the season series with Georgetown after dropping a 64-56 decision to the Hoyas on February 9 at the Carrier Dome.

"There weren't many things called it was just both teams going to the basket hard and trying to make plays and it was hard to do," Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. "I thought our defense was good, rebounding we didn't do a good job. The second half, it was the boards that hurt us and offensively we never could get any rhythm going."

Austin Freeman scored 16 points to lead Georgetown (21-8, 10-7), which has dropped two straight and three of its last four. The Hoyas were without point guard Chris Wright, who suffered a broken hand during Wednesday's loss to Cincinnati.

Syracuse led for most of the contest, but Georgetown used a 10-2 run for a 45-43 edge midway through the second half. The Orange, though, answered with 11 of the next 12 points.

Jardine started it with a bucket to tie it and Jackson followed with a layup to put the Orange ahead for good. After a free throw by Georgetown's Julian Vaughn, Jardine hit a tough jumper before drilling a three-pointer for a 52-46 Syracuse lead. Two free throws from Triche gave Syracuse a 54-46 advantage with 3:57 to play.

The Hoyas ended a lengthy field goal drought with a three-pointer by freshman Markel Starks a minute later, and two free throws by Freeman with 1:23 left pulled Georgetown within three.

Jardine missed the front end of a one-and-one to give Georgetown a chance, but Jason Clark had a three-point try blocked by Kris Joseph before Triche buried two from the line with 23 seconds left for a five-point margin. Triche added two more free throws for the final margin.

"At points, we were holding the ball a bit too long looking for something," Freeman said. "We were just looking for each other and holding the ball too long."

A 7-2 run early gave Syracuse a 12-7 lead, but Georgetown kept it close and a long three-pointer by Starks pulled the Hoyas within 15-14 midway through the opening half. A 7-1 burst a few moments later pushed the Orange to a 24-17 edge and they closed the half with a 9-2 spurt to build a 33-23 cushion.

James Southerland, who hadn't scored since February 6, hit a jumper and a three-pointer during the closing run for the Orange and finished with nine first-half points.

A dunk by Jackson just over two minutes into the second half gave the Orange their largest lead at 37-25, but Clark answered with a three-pointer to ignite a run of 10 straight Georgetown points. After Syracuse had extended its lead back to six, Georgetown responded with a 10-2 run -- the last four by Nate Lubick -- for a 45-43 lead. It was the first Hoya advantage since early in the game.

Game Notes

Southerland finished with nine points...Syracuse is 6-3 on the road this season, including 3-2 against ranked opponents. The Orange also improved to 6-4 overall against ranked teams...Wright, who had started 93 straight games, is Georgetown's second-leading scorer and assist leader...Clark finished with 11 points in defeat...The Hoyas will close the regular season next Saturday at Cincinnati.