WASHINGTON — Syracuse’s matchup with Georgetown started off slowly, with both teams struggling to score. It ended a fast-paced game that went to overtime. The Orange (9-1) was able to overcome the early sloppy play and escape with an 86-79 victory over the Hoyas (8-1) on Saturday afternoon in Capital One Arena.

Here are superlatives from the game.

Big Moment: Tyus Battle quiets the crowd

Tyus Battle struggled to get much going from in close, frequently getting his shot altered by GU’s big men. But his shot was working from deep, and he showed it in the final minutes of the game.

He hit a big 3-pointer from the corner to cut the deficit to two late in the game. Then in overtime, he knocked down two 3-pointers from the right wing off the dribble. After the second one, he turned to the Georgetown fans and put one finger to his mouth, shushing the Hoyas.

Stud: Oshae Brissett

The freshman from Canada has been a mixed bag to start the season. On one hand, he’s recorded five double-doubles on the year. On the other, he’s shot just 35 percent against, racking up low percentages against several of the more mediocre opponents SU has faced.

Brissett entered halftime with just one point. He showed out in the second half, though, keeping Syracuse afloat even as the Hoyas kept scoring. Brissett finished with 25 points and knocked down a career-high four 3-pointers. He also nabbed a game-high 14 rebounds.

Battle finished with 29 points and was Syracuse’s scorer late, but he wouldn’t have had the chance if not for Brissett’s career night.

Dud: The centers

Both Bourama Sidibe and Paschal Chukwu struggled to make an impact against Georgetown’s strong front line featuring the 6-foot-10, 270-pound center Jessie Govan.

On offense, the two were nearly nonexistent. Chukwu missed a few easy layups — one off a pass, another on a rebound. Sidibe missed his shot attempt but struggled to even get those attempts off. On one play, Frank Howard dropped a nifty pocket pass off a pick and roll that Sidibe just dropped. Shortly later, Sidibe traveled trying to get up a shot in the paint.

Neither one contributed on the boards, either, as they combined for just four rebounds.

Highlight: Frank Howard and Paschal Chukwu alley-oop

As much as the centers, and Syracuse as a team, struggled on offense, things changed in overtime. The Orange attacked at a much more efficient pace in overtime and Tyus Battle hit multiple 3-pointers, following up the one he hit late in the fourth quarter.

The Georgetown defense, which was in a zone for much of the second half, was stretched out in overtime having to worry about the deep threat. That allowed Howard to drive down the middle of the lane without much resistance. As Govan stepped up, Howard lobbed a ball toward the rim and Paschal Chukwu came down with it for a loud alley-oop.

Lowlight: Frank Howard ducking away from Jessie Govan

Syracuse turned to the press early on in the second half to spur a comeback. It sometimes forced timeouts from the Hoyas in the backcourt. But, when the Hoyas broke the press, there was often very little protection by the rim.

Midway through the second half, that resulted in Govan running toward the rim with Howard, at 6-foot-5, as the last line of defense. Govan rose up for a running slam. Howard looked like he was going to go up and try and contest it. At the last minute, he thought better of it and ducked away to avoid getting put on the Govan poster.

Published on December 16, 2017 at 3:12 pm

Contact Tomer: tdlanger@syr.edu | @tomer_langer