Syracuse forward Kris Joseph had been off from 3-point land recently.
Not just slightly off. Way off.
Over his past seven games, he was a combined 3-for-37 from downtown.
But during practice on Tuesday, Joseph, who was 42 percent from 3-point land in non-conference play, started knocking them down.
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“Yesterday was the first day that I can remember in a long time that he made some shots in practice,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. “I was hoping that would be a good sign.”
Was it ever.
Joseph scored a career-high 29 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 28 seconds remaining, as the Orange edged Georgetown 64-61 in overtime on Wednesday night.
With the game knotted at 61, Scoop Jardine drove into the paint, drawing several Hoya defenders, and found a wide open Joseph camped on the baseline.
“For some reason,” Joseph said, “they left me open.”
There may have been some reason, but it wasn’t a good one as Joseph gave the Orange its final lead of the game. It was a common theme throughout the night, as Joseph burned Georgetown over and over again.
Joseph was 6-for-11 from beyond the arc, setting a career high for made 3-pointers. The rest of SU combined to shoot 2-for-13.
Joseph was essentially a one-man offensive show for the Orange, as only Fab Melo (11 points) joined him in double digits.
After the senior knocked down the 3, Georgetown had one last chance to tie the game. But Jardine knocked the ball of Jason Clark’s leg, and the Orange won its first overtime game of the season.
“Kris still was the only guy that looked like he wanted it and that he was going to shoot it,” Boeheim said. “Nobody else was really comfortable and didn’t look comfortable shooting the ball.”
Corey Mallonee contributed to this article with reporting from Syracuse.
