Story By: Erin Zollars
Photos By: Sol Tucker
Syracuse, NY–
Tyus Battle had other ideas for how we would like this game to end when he took the ball up the court and got in position to fire a shot from the top of three point line with 2.5 seconds remaining that fell and gave the Orange a 72-71 lead.
All the Hoyas could do was hope for a quick inbound and shoot, which they got beyond half court, but it bounced off the rim and was no good to end the game. Heartbreak for the Hoyas, who dominated the Orange in the first half.
Battle scored 21 of his 26 points in the second half, fueling the Orange’s comeback from a 15-point deficit. The win was the fifth straight for Syracuse (7-2) and snapped the Hoyas (7-2) winning streak at four.
They played a higher tempo in the second half forcing us to make some mistakes,” said Hoyas Head Coach Patrick Ewing. We did a lot of things right in the first half, but we have to figure how to close out games against teams like Syracuse.”
Ewing also went back to the match-up last season and talked about what Battle was capable of doing leading his team.
“He knocked down big shots for them,” added Patrick Ewing, making his return to the Dome as Georgetown coach after a career in the 1980s that fueled the Hoyas-Syracuse fierce Big East rivalry. “He’s a very good player. He hurt us last year and he hurt us this year.”
