Syracuse, N.Y. -- The Syracuse-Georgetown rivalry might not burn as hot as it once did, but the 100th meeting between the two long-time foes lived up to the old rivalry.
Georgetown closed the game on a 17-to-7 run for a 75-71 victory over the Orange on Saturday at the JMA Wireless Dome. Syracuse didn't make a field goal after taking a 69-67 lead on Jaquan Carlos' 3-pointer with 4:13 left in the game.
The loss dropped Syracuse's record to 5-5 on the season. It was the Orange's first home loss of the year. The Hoyas improved to 8-2, winning in the dome for the first time since 2016.
Jayden Epps scored a game-high 27 points to lead the Hoyas, while freshman center Thomas Sorber had 16 points.
Syracuse center Eddie Lampkin's 18 points paced the Orange, while reserve forward Jyare Davis scored 11 of his 15 points in the first half. Orange point guard Jaquan Carlos finished with 15 points and five assists.
The game began to feel like an old-fashioned Syracuse-Georgetown game when the two teams engaged in a minor dust-up midway through the second half. Georgetown's Epps drew a foul on Elijah Moore. As the players moved upcourt, Sorber gave Lampkin a light shove.
Lampkin tried to sell the foul and players from both teams stepped in. The result was technical fouls on Georgetown's Drew Fielder and Syracuse's Lucas Taylor.
Georgetown simply outran the Orange, scoring 19 transition points to just five for Syracuse.
Syracuse pounded the ball inside early, going to Lampkin and Davis, but struggled to score in the second half when Georgetown switched into a 2-3 zone defense.
Georgetown took a 54-46 lead on yet another fastbreak with just under 14 minutes remaining.
But the Orange scrapped back, going on a 9-2 run and pulling to within 56-55 on Moore's 3-pointer with 11:30 left in the game. Syracuse moved back into the lead, 57-56, on a pair of free throws from Carlos.
Carlos scored six straight points for Syracuse, all at the foul line. He then delivered an entry pass to Davis, whose 3-point play put Syracuse up 64-58 with 8:32 left in the game.
Georgetown answered with a 9-to-2 run of its own, taking a 67-66 lead on Epps' 3-pointer with 4:29 remaining. Carlos answered with a 3-pointer, but that would be the last field goal Syracuse would make in the game.
The two teams were tied, 37-37 at halftime, which seemed appropriate as neither team led by more than five points in the first half.
Syracuse looked inside in the first half. Davis scored 11 points off the bench, while Lampkin powered his way to 10 points in the half. Davis forced Georgetown into committing five fouls.
Georgetown went 2-for-15 from 3-point range in the half, but made up for that by scoring 10 fastbreak points to just one for the Orange. As a result, the Hoyas made 14 of their 19 shots inside the arc.