Jason Clark stepped to the line and sealed the improbable Georgetown victory. As Clark nailed the second of two free throws, the energy that had built up in the Carrier Dome vanished.

The Hoyas made their run, and Syracuse found itself unable to answer.

And in a game where any offense proved to be significant, the Orange had arguably its worst offensive performance of the season.

Holding onto a narrow four-point advantage with less than six minutes to play, No. 12 Syracuse (20-5, 7-5 Big East) watched as No. 11 Georgetown (19-5, 8-4) reeled off a 15-3 run to steal a game that appeared to be under SU’s control. Reverting to the shooting struggles that have at times plagued the Orange this season, SU found itself helpless, missing its final seven shots in front of a crowd of 26,904 down the stretch.

Georgetown rode a wave of momentum coming into the Dome, having won six consecutive Big East games, including three on the road. And that showed in the final five minutes Wednesday.

‘We had so many chances to put them away and we didn’t,’ SU point guard Scoop Jardine said. ‘In the Big East, if you don’t put teams away — you make bonehead turnovers or miss rebounds — you’re going to lose. That’s what happened to us tonight.’

Coming into the game, Georgetown was the best shooting team in the Big East at 50.3 percent from the field. And with an experienced core of seniors and juniors, it was only a matter of time before the Hoyas made a run.

When they did, Syracuse crumbled.

‘We really focused on defense and communicating to try and get rebounds and try to get stops,’ Georgetown guard Chris Wright said. ‘If we got stops and we’re up with four with two minutes left, we’re in good hands. Especially with our leadership and our veterans.’

For the first time all season, SU’s leader and anchor, forward Rick Jackson, was plagued by foul trouble throughout the game. When he was in, he was unable to dominate inside as he has done so many times before.

With Jackson on the bench during a key stretch late in the second half, the Hoyas took advantage by crashing the offensive glass. The Hoyas outrebounded SU 19-10 in the second half, eight of which came on the offensive end.

‘We’ve really come to depend on him,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘That was a big difference in the game.’

Syracuse held a late lead when Jackson and Brandon Triche returned to the court, just as Georgetown began making its run. Neither player was able to rescue the Orange as the Hoyas built their late lead. Offensive fouls, turnovers and missed shots all equated to squandering a fragile lead.

Jackson finished with a modest four points and eight rebounds, well below his season averages.

‘I think it was a lack of focus,’ Triche said. ‘Going into the last five minutes, we were confident that we were going to pull this game out. Then one thing led to another and they made a run to end the game.’

Just one game after showing a strong offensive effort against South Florida, Syracuse was as flat as it has been all season.

And it was evident on the court late. Beyond the statistics, Syracuse couldn’t catch a break when it needed one most. Layups rolled off the rim and illegal screens were called, all of which led to what Boeheim referred to as one big unimpressive offensive performance.

‘We missed some shots that you’ve got to make,’ Boeheim said. ‘You can’t do that. Georgetown is obviously a very good team. They’ve played well on the road this year, and we just didn’t make the plays that we had to make there at the end.’

Once Clark nailed his second of two free throws with 48 seconds remaining, it was all but over. The high energy that had once filled the Dome had been deflated, and Syracuse fans and players alike shook their heads.

Jardine did more of that afterward inside the locker room.

‘That’s a good veteran team,’ Jardine said. ‘They made plays to win the game, and we didn’t make plays to win. That was the game.’

aljohn@syr.edu

Published on February 8, 2011 at 12:00 pm