Elijah Hughes and Marek Dolezaj scored 20 points apiece as host Syracuse rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit and snapped a three-game losing streak with a 79-72 victory over Georgia Tech in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup on Saturday.
The Orange (15-12, 8-8) appeared headed for its fourth straight loss when it shot 27 percent (7 of 26) in the first half and trailed 38-27. Syracuse turned it around from the outset after halftime when it shot 64 percent and outscored Georgia Tech 52-34.
Hughes shot 5 of 12 after starting the game 1-of-6. He also hit 8 of 10 free throws while collecting seven assists and seven rebounds.
Dolezaj hit all 12 free throw attempts as the Orange shot 78 percent (28 of 36) from the line. Joseph Girard contributed 15 while Buddy Boeheim chipped in 13 as Syracuse shot 45 percent overall and won for the first time in two weeks.
Moses Wright led all scorers with 33 points on 14-of-17 shooting but the Yellow Jackets (13-14, 7-9) were unable to win for the sixth time in eight games.
Michael Devoe added 11 points as Georgia Tech shot 46 percent overall and committed 17 turnovers.
Wright scored 17 points as Georgia Tech shot 48 percent in the first half but Syracuse started the second half on a 12-2 run to get within 40-39 on a basket by Boeheim with 15:49 left. Georgia Tech took a 45-39 lead on a jumper by Wright a little over a minute later but Syracuse countered with a 13-6 run to get a 52-51 lead on a free throw by Hughes with 9:15 to go.
Syracuse never trailed the rest of the way and expanded its lead to 64-59 on a basket by Bourama Sidibe with 4:07 left. After two free throws by Jordan Usher cut the lead to 64-62 with 3:28 remaining, Syracuse sealed the win when Dolezaj hit a difficult jumper in the lane with 88 seconds left to make it 70-62.
--Field Level Media
Georgia Tech | Syracuse | |
Moses Wright 33 | Scoring | Marek Dolezaj 20 |
Jose Alvarado 6 | Assists | Elijah Hughes 7 |
Moses Wright 10 | Rebounds | Bourama Sidibe 10 |
Michael Devoe 5 | Free Throws Made | Marek Dolezaj 12 |
Jose Alvarado 3 | Steals | Bourama Sidibe 3 |
N/A | Blocks | Quincy Guerrier 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Georgia Tech | 72 | 46.2 | 6-15 | 18-26 | 18 | 28 | 0 | 4 | 17 |
Syracuse | 79 | 45.1 | 5-14 | 28-36 | 12 | 26 | 3 | 6 | 12 |