Joseph powers No. 2 Syracuse

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Who says second-ranked Syracuse doesn't have a go-to guy?

Kris Joseph scored a career-high 29 points, including the decisive 3-pointer in overtime, and Syracuse beat No. 12 Georgetown 64-61 on Wednesday to give coach Jim Boeheim his 880th career win.

Joseph finished with a career-high six 3-pointers on 11 attempts after going 0-for-8 in the previous three games.

"I was getting open shots. I was just taking them," Joseph said. "I wasn't trying to force the issue or do anything out of character. I was just playing ball."

Boeheim, a master of the 2-3 zone defense, took sole possession of third place all time in wins in Division I, one more than North Carolina's Dean Smith, but it wasn't easy against the Orange's rival. Syracuse shot 34.9 percent, a tick better than it did in its only loss of the season at Notre Dame.

"Kris bailed us out," Boeheim said of his senior forward. "Nobody else looked really comfortable shooting the ball. We really struggled offensively. We just didn't attack their zone. We couldn't really make much. We haven't seen a lot of zone, but that's not a good excuse. We play it every day in practice."

The game was tied at 55 after regulation, and freshman Otto Porter scored the first four points of overtime for the Hoyas, and he hit a baseline jumper to give Georgetown a 61-59 lead with 2:19 left.

Dion Waiters tied the score with two free throws for the Orange, and after Porter lost the ball out of bounds at the other end, Scoop Jardine fed Joseph in the left corner, and he buried his final 3 of the game with 29 seconds left.

"Obviously, he was having a terrific night," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. "We had some type of breakdown in communication. He ended up wide open and banged the shot."

Jardine, who finished with eight assists, sealed the victory by forcing a turnover by Jason Clark with 4.9 seconds to go, allowing Syracuse (24-1, 11-1 Big East) to remain unbeaten at home at 16-0. Georgetown (18-5, 8-4) had won five of six entering the game.

"They played well," said Clark, who finished with 12 points. "Knocked the ball out of my hands."