More: Post game quotes
They say the only cure for a shooting slump is to shoot more. And that's exactly what senior forward Kris Joseph did Wednesday, as he netted a collegiate-best 29 points on 6 of 11 shooting from behind the 3-point line, including the game-winner with 26 seconds remaining in overtime to help No. 2-ranked Syracuse Orange survive a typical rough-and-tumble showdown against No. 12 Georgetown Hoyas, 64-61, in a Big East Conference men's basketball game at the Carrier Dome.
"I was able to sneak behind the defense and get open," said Joseph about the game-winning shot. "Scoop (Jardine) did a great job of finding me and I knocked the shot down."
Joseph, who went just 2-for-6 from long-range in the first half, went 4-for-5 in the second, tallied 17 points and helped propel his head coach, Jim Boeheim, to career-victory No. 880, allowing him to leapfrog former North Carolina head coach Dean Smith for third-place on the all-time Division I list.
"Its a good feeling," said Joseph about winning a close battle that featured him hitting the game-winner. "You watch the games as a kid and you see it happen all the time. You never know if you're going to face that situation, so its fun and I am happy I made the shot."
However, everything wasn't all smiles for Boeheim, who wasn't too pleased about his team's overall performance, especially their rebounding.
"This was a disaster game as far as I am concerned," said Boeheim who's team was outrebounded by Georgetown, 52-35, yet, still managed to pull off a close victory. "This is very disappointing at this stage of the year."
"Right now, I don't think we're a good basketball team because we can't rebound."
Trailing 31-27 at halftime, the Orange (24-1, 11-1 Big East) used a small 6-0 run at the start of the second half to take its first lead, 35-31, since a 12-11 advantage 7:41 into the game.
From there, it was a classic, back-and-forth tussle between the long-time Big East rivals, as the lead changed hands five times and regulation ended in a 55-55 tie.
In the extra five minutes, the lead change three more times until Joseph's 3-ball came off a perfect pass from Jardine, who finished the night with eight assists, six of them coming in the second half.
"Kris bailed us out," said Boeheim. "We didn't look comfortable shooting the ball. We really struggled offensively."
Sophomore center Fab Melo tallied 11 points, seven rebounds and six blocks for the Orange, who earned their fourth straight victory. Sophomore guard Dion Waiters chipped in with nine points and five rebounds, while sophomore forward C.J. Fair added five points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
Meanwhile, despite their best efforts the Hoyas (18-5, 8-4) fell just short of pulling off the road upset.
"To have a terrific night and we had some type of breakdown, some type of miscommunication, I am not sure exactly what, but he ended up wide open," said Georgetown head coach John Thompson III about Joseph's game-ender.
"Yes, it's disappointing."
Freshman forward Otto Porter finished with a team-best 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Hoyas, while senior guard Jason Clark netted 12 points, including a big 3-point shot that came with 1:36 to go in regulation and gave Georgetown a brief 55-54 lead.
The Hoyas sent the game into an extra session when freshman forward Greg Whittington made 1 of 2 free throws with 1:00 to go.
Syracuse had shot to win the game in regulation, but a Waiters' possible game-ender fell just short.
For more on this game Syracuse vs. Georgetown, check back to this StoryStream.
Check out, the SB Nation's blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician to discuss everything on the Orange, while the Casual Hoya is all about Georgetown. Make sure to follow along on Twitter at SBNationNY or JaredSmithCNY, as we blog live from the Carrier Dome for Syracuse vs. Georgetown Wednesday night.