Former afterthought Bradley Hayes leads Georgetown past Syracuse
In his first three seasons at Georgetown, seldom-used center Bradley Hayes was such an afterthought that he only scored a total of 30 points.
The 7-footer highlighted a breakthrough senior season Saturday by erupting for nearly that many in a single game.
Hayes led Georgetown to a 79-72 victory over rival Syracuse by erupting for a career-high 21 points and eight rebounds. Among his biggest baskets was a back-to-the-basket hook shot with under four minutes to go after the Orange had sliced a 21-point second-half deficit to eight.
The excellent performance in a big game from Hayes validates his strong early-season start. He has scored in double figures in five of Georgetown’s seven games and is now averaging 11.9 points and 6.3 rebounds so far this season.
What helped Hayes on Saturday is that Syracuse is unusually vulnerable against opponents with imposing big men this season.
The Orange’s best offensive lineup features 6-foot-8 freshman Tyler Lydon at center and Tyler Roberson at power forward, but Hayes was able to overpower Lydon around the basket. Senior DaJuan Coleman is the other option for Syracuse at center, but he lacks the perimeter skills to space the floor the way Lydon can and injuries have robbed him of his explosiveness around the rim.
It also helped create space for Hayes that Syracuse had to extend its zone to account for Georgetown’s array of shooters. Isaac Copeland, Marcus Derrickson and D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera each hit a pair of threes apiece as the Hoyas notched their second quality win of the season and improved to 4-3.
Syracuse was playing in its first game since an NCAA appeals committee ruled Jim Boeheim had to start his nine-game suspension immediately rather than waiting until the start of conference play. The black folding chair where Boeheim would have sat remained empty throughout the game aside from a white piece of tape on the back with the words “COACH” and “BOEHEIM” written in black ink.
Wherever Boeheim watched the game, he probably wasn’t pleased with how his team defended Hayes.
The Georgetown 7 footer came out of nowhere in the opening round of the NCAA tournament last year when he tallied eight points and six rebounds off the bench to help the foul-plagued Hoyas defeat dangerous Eastern Washington. Eight months later, that performance no longer looks like such a fluke. It looks like the spark Hayes needed to become a surprise contributor as a senior.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
