WASHINGTON – A second-half surge that included 20 points from freshman Aminu Mohammed helped the Georgetown University men's basketball team overcome a 10-point halftime deficit as the Hoyas pushed past rival Syracuse 79-75 in front of 13,598 fans at Capital One Arena on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Hoyas improve to 5-4 on the season while the Orange is even at 5-5.
 
ON THE RECORD
"Everybody did something positive for us to win. We rebounded the basketball. We defended them. It was a hard fought game… It's great to beat Syracuse." - Head Coach Patrick Ewing on the team's performance
 
HOYA HIGHLIGHTS

• Aminu Mohammed registered his fourth double-double of the season, recording a season-high 23 points and 13 rebounds. The Hoya freshman shot 7-of-14 from the floor while draining 8-of-9 from the charity stripe. Mohammed added five assists, two steals and a pair of blocks to his final line.
• Donald Carey was second overall in scoring as the graduate student tallied 18 points on 4-of-7 shooting as well as a perfect 6-of-6 performance from the free throw line. He added a quartet of rebounds and assists each.
• Kaiden Rice drained five treys from behind the arc, posting 15 points in 35 minutes of action.
• Collin Holloway registered 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 20 minutes off the bench.
• Dante Harris recorded seven points, six rebounds and a team-high six assists in the win over the Orange.
• For the game, Georgetown shot 45.5 percent (25-55 FG) including a 42.3 percent (11-26 3FG) from deep. The Blue & Gray held Syracuse to 44.1 percent (30-68) shooting and a paltry 30.8 percent from downtown.
• The Hoyas outrebounded Cuse, 38-31, and scored 11 more points, 18-7, from the free throw line.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Wilson slammed home a dunk on Syracuse for the team's first points of the game off a Carey pass underneath the basket, jump starting an 11-2 GU run that was capped off by a trio of Rice treys with 14:51 remaining.
• Harris knocked down a triple from the wing to knot the game at 21 while Syracuse went on a three-minute scoring drought.
• Carey drained a pair of 3-pointers from the corner on back-to-back possessions, pulling the Hoyas to within five, 33-28.
• The Hoyas went into the break trailing, 44-34, with Carey and Rice recording nine points apiece through 20 minutes.
• Georgetown opened the second on a 9-3 run behind a Carey trey and six points from Mohammed.
• Mohammed scored 12 of the team's first 17 tallies to start the half, erasing Cuse's 10-point lead and tying the game at 51 as the raucous crowd raised the decibels at GU's downtown home.
• After both squads exchanged blows through the middle of the frame, the Blue & Gray turned it on and held Syracuse scoreless for 3:13 while scoring six unanswered points to take a 63-58 edge.
• Rice made Capital One Arena roar with a deep trey off a Mohammed pass to put the Hoyas ahead by two (75-73, 1:08).
• Mohammed and Carey each sank a pair of free throws to seal the game and knock off the Orange, 79-75.

 
OF NOTE

• Georgetown pushed its homecourt winning streak to five games at the friendly confines of Capital One Arena.
• The team's 85.7 shooting percentage (18-21) from the charity stripe is the highest in any game this season with a minimum of 10 free throw attempts.
• The Hoyas recorded their fourth game of the season with four or more players in double figures.

 
UP NEXT
Georgetown will remain at home for a matchup against Howard at Capital One Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 15. Tipoff for the matchup will be at 6:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on FS1 with Scott Graham calling the play-by-play and John Giannini providing analysis. Saturday's contest can be heard locally on The Team 980 or on Sirius XM 380 with Rich Chvotkin in his 48th season on the call.