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Sapp, Georgetown edge Syracuse in overtime

Jan 22, 2008 - 5:50 AM WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Georgetown proved its mental toughness down the stretch.

Jessie Sapp played stellar in the clutch and Jonathan Wallace carried the load in the first half as the No. 9 Hoyas posted a 64-62 overtime victory over Syracuse in Monday's Big East Conference battle.

Wallace and Roy Hibbert each poured in 15 points for Georgetown (15-2, 5-1 Big East), which watched Sapp drill a 3-pointer and nail another jumper in the waning seconds of regulation to force OT.

In the extra session, Sapp knocked down a pair of free throws to snap a 60-60 tie with 3:24 remaining. Hibbert's jumper in the middle of Syracuse's tough 2-3 zone defense gave Georgetown a 64-60 edge with 1:04 to go.

The Orange had chance to close within one after DaJuan Summers fouled freshman Donte Greene on a 3-pointer with 43 seconds to go. But Greene only was able to sink 2-of-3 from the line to make it a two-point game.

Syracuse dominated the first 15 1/2 minutes of the second half, grabbing a 58-51 lead when Greene connected on a 3-pointer with 4:34 remaining after trailing by seven points at intermission.

However, Syracuse (13-7, 3-4) still had an opportunity to come out on top, but Jonny Flynn's 3-pointer rimmed in and out at the buzzer for its third straight conference road loss.

"We tried to get Donte the ball off the inbounds and we couldn't get it to him, and then the next thing was to get it to Jonny and see if he could get something off the pick or stop and take the three, and I liked the shot," Orange coach Jim Boeheim said.

While Sapp supplied the offensive power in the final stages, Hoyas coach John Thompson III felt his team's defense was the story down the stretch.

"I think a key part was, during the latter part of regulation and in overtime, Jeremiah (Rivers) and (Patrick (Ewing Jr.'s) defense was unbelievable," he said. "I think those two guys made a huge difference at the defensive end of the floor.

"That being said, (Syracuse) missed some shots that they normally make. But I think those two, the effort and the work was terrific. Spark would be an understatement. What they did was terrific."

In the opening half, the Hoyas rode the shoulders of Wallace, who netted 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting to help forge a 36-29 advantage into the locker room. Georgetown shot a blistering 53 percent (14-of-26) through the first 20 minutes.

Flynn netted 24 points and Greene chipped in 15 and 10 rebounds for the Orange, who were held without a field goal in overtime.

"We had a tremendous effort," Boeheim said. "We had the lead, just made a couple of mistakes you can't make on the road in that situation. But we competed hard, we rebounded, our defense was good.

"This was the best we played on the road all year. But at the end of regulation, we made mistakes you just can't make, and they took advantage of it."