In their last game ever at MCI Center on Saturday afternoon, the class of 2006 finally got a win over hated rival Syracuse.

Fans roared for seniors Brandon Bowman and Ashanti Cook and fifth-year grad student Darrel Owens as they were called to the sideline in the waning moments of the 68-53 victory, the Hoyas’ first over the Orange since 2001-02.

Bowman, Cook and Owens have witnessed four of the most tumultuous years in the history of Georgetown men’s basketball. But Bowman’s thoughts of transferring after his freshman year and the memories of Georgetown’s first season without a postseason invitation in 30 years seemed like ages ago as the trio embraced their mentors, teammates and Head Coach John Thompson III.

Thompson, in his second year at the helm, has resurrected the program and is on the verge of leading the No. 20 Hoyas (19-7, 10-5) to their first NCAA tournament appearance in five years.

“It gives us a lot of confidence going into postseason play,” Cook said of the victory. “It gives us our swagger back. . We have to continue to win ball games and our record will speak for itself.”

In future years, college basketball fans and prognosticators around the country will likely highlight Georgetown’s Jan. 21 upset of top-ranked Duke as the defining moment of the regular season for this up-and-coming Hoya squad. But this past Saturday, the coach had to agree to disagree.

“The Duke win was nice. This one is nicer,” said the 39-year-old Thompson.

After coming up short against the Orange (19-9, 7-7) last year at the Carrier Dome, when officials ruled that Bowman had brushed the line and denied the Hoyas a game-winning three-pointer, Georgetown’s senior class was forced to wait another year for revenge against Syracuse.

Bowman joked after that game, a 78-73 overtime loss, that a smaller shoe would have done the trick.

This time around, the 6-foot-9 forward was able to bounce back from one of the worst outings of his career, a scoreless 21-minute effort against Rutgers last Wednesday. Though he shot only 1-of-8 from the field, he hit 4-of-5 from the charity stripe and tallied four assists and two steals. He also demonstrated some of the intensity that the Hoyas desperately missed during their three-game skid.

Owens went 5-of-8 on the afternoon, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, for 12 points, marking just the third time this season he has reached in double figures in consecutive games.

Cook had it rough covering senior Gerry McNamara all afternoon, landing hard on the hardwood after hurdling up and over Syracuse’s leading scorer, and later taking an accidental pop in the mouth.

“He was exhausted,” Thompson said of his 6-foot-2 guard. “As a coach, you say, `He’s tired, but he’s a senior.’ He was just tough all night. Even without the fall and the smack, just his effort and his focus was terrific. That went a long way toward Gerry not getting open shots.”

McNamara, who averages 16 points a game, was held to only eight points. He wasn’t nearly as effective this time out after adding five of his team’s 11 points in the last year’s extra period and dropping a buzzer-beating three for a win over the Hoyas in 2004.

Foul trouble plagued the Orange too as junior forwards Demetrius Nichols and Terrence Roberts each had four fouls by early in the second half.

“We got no help from [Nichols and Roberts] in the first half and we got less help in the second half,” Syracuse Head Coach Jim Boeheim said. “They just never got into the game. From a rebounding standpoint and from an offensive standpoint, Terrence was never in the game at all.”

Nichols finished with nine points, while Roberts mustered a solitary dunk.

Sophomore Jeff Green led four Hoyas in double figures, chipping in 18 points. Cook and sophomore Jon Wallace put up 10 each.

Wallace set the pace for the Hoyas on the boards, nabbing four boards in the first five minutes. With a total of 17, it was Georgetown’s best outing on the offensive glass since the Hoyas’ double overtime win at Notre Dame.

The teams played close in the early minutes, though Georgetown’s rebounding advantage and its turnover margin – 7-2 in favor of the Hoyas during the first half – allowed the home team to gain a steady lead.

Nichols picked up his third personal foul on Green with six minutes to go before intermission. Green sank both free throws of the one-and-one, giving the Hoyas their largest lead of the half, a 22-15.

Freshman guard Eric Devendorf hit three pointers on the next two possessions to bring the game back to one possession. The Orange never managed to take the lead, only tying the game at 27 after Green was called for a foul on junior center Darryl Watkins and Watkins knocked down both shots from the charity stripe.

Syracuse went into locker room down by three, 33-30, after some problems with the shot clock with less than a minute to go gave the Hoyas a second inbounding try, opening the door for a three-point play by Roy Hibbert.

Georgetown pulled away early on in the second period thanks to two 7-0 runs, which got the team a 58-46 advantage with eight minutes to play.

The Hoyas sank 8-of-8 free throws in the final six minutes to lock up the victory, with the first two coming after Roberts fouled Bowman and fouled out of the game.

Also playing in their final home game were seniors Amadou Kilkenny-Diaw and Ryan Beal, who stepped onto the court for the game’s final seconds to enjoy the cheers of the crowd.

“Walking into the locker room off the floor, Amadou came by, gave me a hug, and said, `That’s one more thing off my checklist, coach,'” Thompson said. “So I feel pretty good for our seniors.”

With 18,879 coming out to see the 75th meeting between two marquee Big East rivals, it marked the first time in eight years that Georgetown averaged more than 10,000 fans per game. Not since Allen Iverson ran the floor at Capital Centre had the Hoyas drawn so many spectators.

Following West Virginia’s 67-62 victory last night over Pittsburgh, the Hoyas are now tied with the Panthers (21-5, 10-5) for fourth in the Big East. Georgetown needs a win in its final game plus Marquette to lose one of its two remaining games (Wednesday at Louisville and Saturday vs. Providence) to clinch a first-round bye in the conference tournament for the first time since 2001.

Georgetown heads south to face South Florida (6-21, 0-14) in both teams’ season closer on Saturday night. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at the Sun Dome.