The Syracuse players sprinted off the court just as the fans rushed on. The players didn’t want to avoid the court-rush from 26,287 fans at the Carrier Dome on Monday.

They wanted to embrace the support. Some stood up on the scorer’s table and slapped high-fives. Others went on the floor, showing they’re not claustrophobic.

Syracuse’s 72-58 upset over No. 9 Georgetown denied the Hoyas a chance to clinch at least a share of the Big East regular season title. More importantly for the Orange, it secured a victory it would like to point to on its rsum for the NCAA Tournament selection committee.

Not only is it a quality win this year, but it’s the highest-ranked opponent SU (21-8, 10-5 Big East) has beaten in the regular season since a 49-46 overtime victory at No. 3 Pittsburgh on Feb. 29, 2004.

SU forward Terrence Roberts kept slapping the fans’ hands. As he captured the moment, Roberts vividly remembered when fans weren’t embracing SU a month ago. Those same people booed them off the court, cheerleaders included.

But last month Syracuse wasn’t a team that could hold Georgetown (22-6, 12-3 Big East) to 29.8 percent shooting. It wasn’t a team that could depend on four players to contribute scoring in Nichols (22), Andy Rautins (13), Eric Devendorf (11) and Paul Harris (11).

‘All I could think was about five games ago and getting booed,’ Roberts said. ‘I remember how bad that felt. But we pulled it together and played like how we played.’

Even with a five-game winning streak before this victory, critics countered the Orange’s wins this season haven’t come against quality teams enough to catch the attention of the selection committee. But SU head coach Jim Boeheim and his players know SU’s win on Monday will.

‘Georgetown is a rivalry and a really great basketball team,’ Boeheim said. ‘Eleven straight wins and the big game they had Saturday, we probably caught them a little bit down. But I’m not sure of that. I just think we played well today.’

The Orange made four-straight unanswered 3-pointers and held Georgetown scoreless for five and a half minutes. Rautins and Nichols nailed two treys to start a 6-0 run with a 53-46 lead with 8:36 remaining. And the shooting didn’t stop there.

After Devendorf and Georgetown guard Jonathan Wallace traded technical fouls, Rautins nailed another 3-pointer. Nichols took his turn with a dynamic shot that seems to be falling as of late, as evidenced by his game-winning shot against Providence on Saturday and his 37-point effort against St. John’s on Feb. 11.

Rautins looked for an open shot in the right corner but couldn’t find it. He passed to Devendorf, who looked for a shot up top but met a double team. Devendorf passed to Nichols in the left corner out of desperation. With four seconds left on the shot clock, Nichols hit an off-balance 3-pointer with the hands of GU guard Jessie Sapp in his face.

On the next possession, Darryl Watkins beat Roy Hibbert to the basket for a 61-46 lead with 5:27 left. SU wouldn’t let the momentum or the lead outs of its hands from there.

‘All I knew was the time was going down,’ Nichols said of his shot. ‘I wanted to at least hit the rim. It went all in. It was a great feeling. I was thinking about making the bucket but I had a small chance because I was off balance. I held my follow through and it went in.’

Even though Syracuse limited Georgetown’s production by holding Jeff Green and Hibbert to nine and six points, respectively, the Hoyas were just as effective in denying the Orange baskets. SU only shot 38.7 percent in the first half.

Georgetown tried to start a run when it went ahead 25-20 with 5:22 left in the first half – its largest lead in the game. But Syracuse scored seven-straight unanswered points a minute and 18 seconds later, capped off by a Devendorf 3-pointer at the top of the key. SU held a 27-25 advantage, the first time it led since the 15:25 mark.

Boeheim saw his players not forcing shots as much during the second half. But he argues with good reason that SU won because of its defensive play. That’s because the defense stayed constant throughout the game.

‘Defensively we were all over the place tonight,’ Rautins said. ‘We were getting steals. We were contesting shots. We were keeping the ball at the high post. These are things we need to do game in and game out.’

It may have been belated, but the performance came in time to stake its case to earn a right to have SU’s name on the NCAA Tournament bracket. Boeheim remembers those boos earlier this month and how it compelled his players to change it around. With the Orange’s victories now leading to court-rushes, it doesn’t want to turn back.

‘I’d like us to keep working hard and trying to get better,’ Boeheim said. ‘We’ll see what can happen. We’ve come a long way in just two weeks. I’m really proud of this team. I don’t think we had any team that was in quite a bad of a position to make this kind of a stretch drive.’

Published on February 27, 2007 at 12:00 pm