National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Georgetown 79, Syracuse 72
When: 1:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 5, 2015
Where: Verizon Center, Washington, District of Columbia
Officials: # Ed Corbett, # Les Jones, # Michael Stephens
Attendance: 18231

WASHINGTON -- Center Bradley Hayes scored a career-high 21 points and forward Isaac Copeland had 14 as Georgetown defeated No. 14 Syracuse 79-72 Saturday afternoon in the long-awaited rematch between former Big East rivals.

Forward Marcus Derrickson had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Hoyas (4-3), who led nearly from start to finish and by double figures for most of the game. Their 36-24 halftime lead ballooned to 21 at 47-26 early in the second half. Georgetown has won five of seven in the series and three straight games this season after a 1-3 start.

Forward Michael Gbinije scored 23 points for the Orange (6-2), who lost to Wisconsin this week. Syracuse's 3-point shooters missed more often than not, finishing 7 of 27 (25.9 percent) from beyond the arc, while Georgetown repeatedly found success inside and out against the Orange's 2-3 zone.

Syracuse methodically pulled closer over the final 16 minutes. Center DaJuan Coleman's putback cut Georgetown's lead to 66-58 with 4:17 remaining and Franklin Howard's layup made it 74-68 with 32 seconds left.

The Hoyas closed out the win by making 5 of 6 free throws in the first meeting since Syracuse left to join the Atlantic Coast Conference following the 2012-13 season.

Hayes and guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera who scored 11 points, were the only Georgetown players with previous experience against Syracuse. Orange guard Trevor Cooney, a surprise hero in the 2013 Big East Tournament meeting, had 11 points, but shot 3 of 12 from the field.

Georgetown took control with a 14-2 first half run for a 26-10 lead.

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim was not on the sideline as he began serving a nine-game NCAA suspension for rules infractions. Associate coach Mike Hopkins served as head coach against Georgetown's John Thompson III.
Top Game Performances
 
Syracuse   Georgetown
Michael Gbinije 23 Scoring Bradley Hayes 21
Michael Gbinije 5 Assists D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera 5
Tyler Roberson 8 Rebounds Marcus Derrickson 10
Michael Gbinije 6 Free Throws Made Bradley Hayes 5
Tyler Lydon 3 Steals Tre Campbell 3
Tyler Lydon 2 Blocks Isaac Copeland 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Syracuse 72 38.1 7-27 17-21 13 29 2 9 11
Georgetown 79 48.1 8-21 21-29 16 35 3 6 14