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Saturday’s matchup brought the Orange and the Hoyas together for the 100th time. But, the former Big East rivals no longer have the legendary coaches of Jim Boeheim and John Thompson.

Both boast second-year coaches attempting to bring their teams back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021. Rather than historic matchups like Pearl Washington against Patrick Ewing or Dikembe Mutombo and Alonzo Mourning against Derrick Coleman and Billy Owens, the centennial matchup brought fresh talent to the table with freshman Thomas Sorber and senior Eddie Lampkin Jr. battling inside.

Coming off its biggest win of the season, a 17-point victory over UAlbany, Syracuse faltered down the stretch. After tying 37-37 at halftime, SU was outscored 38-34 in the second half, missing multiple 3s in the final minute to give second-year head coach Adrian Autry his first loss in the rivalry.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (5-5, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) 75-71 loss to Georgetown (8-2, 0-0 Big East) matchup Saturday:

Lampkin Jr. vs. Sorber

The matchup inside featured a fifth-year in Lampkin and a freshman in Sorber. The elder statesman went right at Sorber, putting his shoulder down and driving to the basket.

As the two battled back and forth, Lampkin put up a floater to get the Orange on the board. As Sorber fought for offensive positioning, the two began to get into wrestling matches, throwing shoulders and chirping at each other.

Following the first media timeout, Naheem McLeod entered for Lampkin. Sorber immediately went at the seven-footer. As McLeod was slow to recover in transition, Sorber flushed a dunk. On the next possession, McLeod went out for a long rebound, and Sorber punched home a put-back dunk.

Sorber was removed, and Autry immediately played the chess match, bringing Lampkin back in. Lampkin then got going and the two matched back up later. As Sorber sized him up, Lampkin clapped his hands in a “let’s get it on” fashion. Sorber swished a mid-range jumper, returning the gesture.

Lampkin’s age got to him, as he grew tired quicker than Sorber, and Georgetown’s center built a rhythm with Lampkin on the bench. At the half, Lampkin had 10 points and three rebounds while Sorber totaled 10 and one.

The freshman got the scoring going in the second half, and the Hoyas added another layup, but Lampkin’s physicality allowed him to answer with two inside finishes of his own.

The battle continued throughout the rest of the game, with Lampkin finishing at 18 points and Sorber with 16.

3-point woes

Just a week ago, Syracuse’s 3-point shooting hit a new low. The Orange went 0-for-9 from beyond the arc, not making a 3 in a contest for the first time in a decade. Yet, it was the Hoyas who couldn’t get their shots to fall early Saturday.

Led by Drew Fielder’s poor display, Georgetown air-balled multiple 3s. The Hoyas knocked down just two of their 15 first-half attempts, with Fielder and Micah Peavy each at 0-for-3. SU, though converting on two deep attempts early, fell flat too. The Orange were 2-for-8 in the first half, not making a triple in the final 14 minutes.

Luckily for both squads, their inside scorers were phenomenal, as Georgetown scored 26 points in the paint to SU’s 20 in the first 20 minutes.

One of Syracuse’s biggest 3-point threats, Chris Bell, went 0-for-3 against both Notre Dame and UAlbany in SU’s last two games. His struggles continued against the Hoyas, shooting 0-for-3 from 3. Meanwhile, Jayden Epps drained back-to-back 3s to build Georegetown to its biggest lead yet at 49-43.

SU’s Elijah Moore hit a huge corner 3 with just under 12 minutes to play to cut Syracuse’s deficit to 56-55. In the waning minutes, Epps buried a 3 and so did Jaquan Carlos. Still, Saturday proved 3-point shooting was neither of these team’s specialties.

Both teams combined to go 10-for-41 from 3, with Syracuse shooting 4-for-16 and Georgetown going 6-for-25.

Assessing Freeman

Donnie Freeman entered the season as SU’s top recruit since Carmelo Anthony. With expectations high, he still needed to get his feet wet. Since the Cornell matchup on Nov. 27, Freeman seems to have found his stride.

He recorded a career-high 23 points and 12 rebounds against the Big Red. In the ACC opener, he dropped 20. Versus UAlbany, he set a new career-high, totaling 24. The matchup with Georgetown gave Freeman another opportunity to impress. Saturday, Freeman didn’t play nearly as much, with Jyáre Davis and Lampkin dominating down low.

Freeman made a tough mid-range shot followed by a 3, elevating SU to a 9-4 lead early. Trailing 34-33 with under three minutes to play, Freeman comfortably attempted a mid-range and sunk it to retake the lead.

In the second half, Freeman played sparingly, as Autry relied on Davis and Lampkin for nearly the entire duration. The freshman has had his moments throughout the season, but against the Hoyas, his number was rarely called.

Final stretch

With 7:59 to play, the rivalry matchup came down to the wire. Syracuse led 64-58, its biggest lead of the game up until that point. The Hoyas cut into the deficit with two inside scores, one by Fielder and one by Sorber. At the 5:53 mark, SU led 64-62, calling a timeout following Sorber’s layup.

Moore flushed a fadeaway midrange shot to extend the lead back to four, but Sorber answered right back with a layup. Epps knocked down a 3, but Carlos found nothing but net on a finish of his own from the right corner, retaking a 69-67 lead for the Orange with 3:50 remaining.

Malik Mack split two free throws, but Georgetown recovered the rebound on the second shot, and Epps finished inside to take a 70-69 lead. Sorber swatted a Davis floater and Epps drove inside, getting to the charity stripe. He knocked down both with under two minutes to play, extending the lead 72-69.

Moore and Freeman missed 3-pointers in the final 90 seconds, allowing Epps to seal the deal with a layup, pushing the lead to 74-69 and an eventual victory.

Published on December 14, 2024 at 4:59 pm

Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky