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Summers, Georgetown hammer Syracuse

Jan 15, 2009 - 6:27 AM WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- DaJuan Summers scored 21 points as No. 12 Georgetown used a big first half to roll to an 88-74 victory over Big East rival Syracuse on Wednesday.

Austin Freeman had 19 points and freshman Greg Monroe added 10, seven rebounds and six assists for the Hoyas (12-3, 3-2 Big East), who captured one of the most lopsided wins in recent memory in the memorable series with the Orange.

The average margin of victory in the previous 11 games of the series was 6.8 points, including three contests that went into overtime.

"That's a hard team to play against," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. "They're an experienced team and they have pieces. Every person they put on the court can hurt you and with that zone, they know where the holes are, they know what to take away. We were fortunate to get some looks and stuff going inside; they ended up going man-to-man a little bit."

Georgetown put the game away with a dominant first half, shooting 62 percent (18-of-29) with eight 3-pointers en route to a 50-32 lead. The Hoyas took control with a 21-4 run that Freeman capped with a basket from the arc, making it 37-18 with 4:28 left.

"Georgetown played extremely well," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "They really made some big shots, got some big offensive rebounds early in the game and we got in such a hole that it was difficult. We started the second half pretty well, we did a good job early, but we never really got the defense that we needed to get going in this game. We gave up too many open looks and they knocked them down, which again is to their credit."

The sophomore Freeman finished 4-of-5 from the arc in posting a season high in points.

Little used Nikita Mescheriakov began the spurt, sandwiching a pair of 3-pointers around a long-range basket by Jonny Flynn. The native of Belarus came in averaging 1.4 points in seven games.

Freshman guard Jason Clark had 12 points off the bench, giving Georgetown a 29-22 advantage on bench points.

"I told the team, everybody played and everyone made significant contributions," Thompson said. "Julian (Vaughn) I thought was terrific in the time that he was in there. Nikita (Mescheriakov) comes in, and he's been a bit of a 'deer in the headlights' and all of a sudden ... I throw him in there and he bangs two shots in a row. That's how it should be. We have confidence in each other."

Despite the big lead, tempers still flared when Summers was fouled hard on a fast-break dunk by Krisof Ongenaet that made it 42-23 with 2:37 remaining before halftime. Although the referees called an intentional foul, the 6-8 Summers jumped up from the floor and got in Ongenaet's face to draw a technical foul.

"I like to say that we don't think about it, we say each game is the same," Summers said. "We've got to prepare for each game the same way. But it is a big game, it is a big rivalry."

Trailing by 18 points at the break, eighth-ranked Syracuse (16-2, 4-1) came out of halftime with a 13-3 run to close within 53-45, but Summers responded with a big 3-pointer.

The Orange made a couple of charges in the second half only to see the Hoyas turn them away with deep shots. The hosts finished 12-of-20 on 3-pointers.

"The start of the second half where we didn't score ... we were able to settle in then get back on track," Thompson said. "That's something we were focused and attentive even though we didn't put the ball in the basket."

Eric Devendorf had 20 points and Rick Jackson 17 and seven rebounds for Syracuse, which had a 3-0 start against ranked teams snapped.

Paul Harris added 15 points and 11 boards and Flynn chipped in 14 points and nine assists for the Orange, who shot 57 percent (17-of-30) in the second half but could get no closer than 11 points on three occasions over the final 13:04.

Besides the loss, Syracuse was forced to play most of the contest without starting guard Andy Rautins due to an knee injury.

Rautins, who had shot 54 percent (26-of-48) on 3-pointers over the previous five games, left the game with 7:54 to play in the opening half when Mescheriakov fell on his left knee chasing a loose ball. It was the same knee that Rautins tore the ACL in, forcing him to miss all of last season.