Charles Nailen/The Hoya Syracuse outshone Georgetown in overtime to seal the win.

Georgetown’s overtime loss to Syracuse on Saturday had the familiar look and feel of another close loss for the Hoyas. But the contest that turned out to be critical this time, the battle of the boards, was not close at all.

Georgetown was outrebounded 60-43 on the way to its seventh loss in eight overtime games, this time at the hands of the No. 15 Orangemen. Even more important was that Syracuse grabbed 24 offensive boards to Georgetown’s 13, giving the Orangemen 32 second-chance points to the Hoyas’ 11.

“The most important thing that hurt us today is that we could not rebound at all other than Mike Sweetney,” Head Coach Craig Esherick said. “We were terrible on the boards. They killed us, particularly [Hakim] Warrick and [Carmelo] Anthony.”

Despite a monstrous performance by junior forward Mike Sweetney that included 31 points, 19 rebounds, seven assists and seven blocks, the Hoyas could not hang on to a game in which they led by as many as 12.

A disappointed Sweetney said, “We’re getting to the end of the season. It should be getting better, not worse.”

Although the Orangemen’s defense limited Sweetney to just four points in the first half, Head Coach Jim Boeheim said, “Sooner or later, Mike’s going to get going . He’s the best low post player in the country.”

The Orangemen finally finished off the Hoyas in the overtime period, with deadly shooting coming from freshman guard Gerry cNamara. Although he had been 0-for-5 from beyond the three-point line up until the 2:17 mark, he made all three of his last three treys, two coming in overtime.

McNamara was the difference in the extra period, scoring 10 of Syracuse’s 16 overtime points. The Hoyas, on the other hand, did not make a field goal in the five minutes, despite the slew of desperate three-pointers heaved by Riley and freshman guard Ashanti Cook

“I don’t want anyone else taking that shot,” Boeheim said of McNamara’s corner trey with 2:17 left to go in regulation.

The end of regulation resulted in Georgetown being down three points with 10.7 seconds to go. After a timeout, Riley inbounded to sophomore guard Drew Hall, who dribbled down court and passed back to Riley.

In a bit of a frantic possession, Riley appeared to lose the ball, although he said it was a pass, and Sweetney wound up with it. He passed it back out to Riley, who nailed a three-pointer that sent the game to overtime and the 17,352 MCI Center crowd into a frenzy.

“It wasn’t the best pass I’ve ever made,” Riley, who was 3-for-17 from the floor, said.

Although McNamara’s shots turned out to be the critical ones, the Orangeman who plagued the Hoyas throughout the game was freshman forward Carmelo Anthony, who was named Big East Rookie of the Week for his performance. Anthony led the Orangemen with 30 points and 15 boards.

“[Anthony and Sweetney] played at a different level than the other eight players on the court,” Esherick said. “Carmelo’s a very good player. What impresses me most is how hard he plays.”

While Anthony’s production rivaled Sweetney’s, his percentages reveal a different style of play. He shot 12-for-29 from the floor (Sweetney was 8-for-15) and was 5-for-13 from the free-throw line, compared to Sweetney, who was15-for-17.

The Hoyas led for much of the first half, opening up with an 11-0 lead.

“We couldn’t get into any offensive set early,” Boeheim said. “We were running around like chickens.”