Juiced! Georgetown 91, Syracuse 84

Chris Wright scored 27 points to lead four Hoyas in double figures as Georgetown pulled out a 91-84 victory over the hated Syracuse Orange Thursday.  Wright added 6 rebounds and 6 assists in probably his career game to date.  For the Hoyas, one rather large monkey is off their back and the season-defining game thus far.

A few quick notes:

• Star–Wright.   The stat line above speaks for itself, but doesn’t do justice to the little man’s versatility.  He ran baseline to get open under the 2-3 zone, broke the press consistently, kept turnovers low (2-to-1 A/TO ratio), and had his shot going (10 of 16).
• Supporting cast–the usual Greg Monroe-Austin Freeman-Jason Clark trifecta had it working.  Monroe in particular led the Hoyas down the stretch, finishing with 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists.
• Key sequence–After an Andy Rautins 3 ball made it 57-48 with 13:43 remaining, the Hoyas went on a 22-4 run to turn a nine-point deficit into an equally large lead.  Everyone, including Vee Sanford, got in on the action, but Wright led the way, scoring 8 during the run.  Georgetown was able to break the Syracuse press seemingly at will, converting easy lay-ups and short jumpers and open 3s.
  
• Moment of terror–From 5:18 to 0:47 on the clock, the Hoyas missed 8 free throws.  Hollis Thompson, who generally played well, finishing with 8 points, missed 4 straight from the line, including the costly front end of a 1-and-1.  Monroe also missed 3 during that sequence.
  
• Redemption–Monroe and Freeman combined hit 6 straight to close out the game.
• Key stat–surprisingly, free throws.  The Hoyas made a living there, converting 19 (out of 28, so not all stellar), while the Orange, who had torched the Hoyas from the line in the first two mach-ups, shot just 12 on the day, making 9.

A stunning and heartening reversal of fortune for the Hoyas, who return to action tomorrow night at 7 pm EST against either Marquette or Villanova.