Syracuse, N.Y. — Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim draped a white towel over his right shoulder during the national anthem.
The towel was an homage to the late Georgetown coach John Thompson, who passed away last August. Thompson famously had a towel over his shoulder during games throughout his coaching career.
Boeheim and Thompson were fierce rivals who came to share a great respect for each other.
Boeheim took the towel and laid it over his chair during the game. Syracuse held on to beat Georgetown, 74-69.
Syracuse Orange trainer Brad Pike takes a look at Syracuse Orange forward Marek Dolezaj (21) after Marek hit the floor during a game between Syracuse and Georgetown Saturday Jan. was 9, 2021 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse New York. Dennis Nett | [email protected]
Syracuse’s Marek Dolezaj looked more like a hockey player than a basketball player at the game’s end.
Dolezaj lost a tooth after colliding with Georgetown’s Jamorko Pickett with one minute left in the game. Pickett appeared to hit Dolezaj’s mouth by accident with his elbow.
Dolezaj’s mouth was full of blood and he briefly jogged off the court. However, he remained in the game.
Syracuse trainer Brad Pike went onto the court to check on Dolezaj and walked back to the bench holding a tooth in his hand.
In its two losses this season, Syracuse was dominated on the boards by both Rutgers and Pittsburgh.
Georgetown entered Saturday’s game with strong rebounding numbers. The Hoyas had a plus-6.4 rebounding margin for the season.
But as Syracuse built its 43-30 halftime lead, it did so by hitting the boards, especially at the defensive end of the court.
Syracuse grabbed 23 rebounds in the first half compared to just 11 Georgetown. The Hoyas got to just one offensive rebound and had no second-chance points in the half.
Georgetown was much stronger on the boards in the second half, but Syracuse still out-rebounded the Hoyas 38-32 for the game.
The Hoyas scored just seven second-chance points.
Marek Dolezaj is turning into Syracuse’s ironman. He played the entire game on Saturday, keeping him on the floor for 40 minutes or more for the fourth consecutive game.
Dolezaj played the entire game against Northeastern, Pittsburgh and Georgetown. He logged 42 out of 45 possible minutes in SU’s overtime win over Buffalo.
Dolezaj finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Robert Braswell’s line in the box score won’t stand out, but the sophomore played a huge role in the Orange’s win.
Braswell finished the game with three points, three steals, two rebounds and one block.
The block came at a critical juncture. Georgetown, which had trailed by as many as 16 points, had trimmed the deficit to just 65-61. With just over 5 minutes left in the game, Jahvon Blair appeared to have a breakaway layup that would reduce the gap to two points. But Braswell soared in from the opposite side of the floor and swatted Blair’s shot away.
Syracuse quickly pushed the ball upcourt where Buddy Boeheim drained a 3-pointer for a 68-61 lead.
In all, Braswell gave Syracuse some valuable contributions in his 17 minutes off the bench.
Syracuse ended the first half on a 22-6 run to take a 43-30 lead into halftime.
The Orange’s outburst started on a four-point play by Joe Girard.
Girard, who had been struggling recently, buried a 3-pointer as he was fouled by Georgetown’s Jahvon Blair. Girard made the free throw, turning a 24-21 deficit into a 25-24 lead and the Orange was on its way.
Girard finished with 18 points and a season-high 8 assists.
His career-high of nine came last season in a loss to Oklahoma State.
The Syracuse-Georgetown rivalry doesn’t run as hot these days as it did back in the 1980s and ’90s.
With Syracuse now in the ACC and Georgetown still in the Big East, the two foes only see each other once a year. But there’s another element that has been missing in recent years.
From 2005 to 2013, which was Syracuse’s last year in the Big East, Syracuse and Georgetown met 17 times. Either one or both of the teams were ranked each time.
In their five meetings since 2017, including Saturday’s game, neither team has been ranked in the Top 25.
Syracuse center Bourama Sidibe missed Saturday’s game due to soreness in the knee that he had surgery on for a torn meniscus back in late November.
Sidibe, who started every game last season, tore his meniscus in SU’s season-opener against Bryant on Nov. 27. He was originally supposed to return in four weeks.
Sidibe started practicing recently, but according to SU coach Jim Boeheim, experienced some soreness.
He has now missed eight straight games, including being held out SU’s two games this past week against Pittsburgh and Georgetown.
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