Washington, D.C. — Senior guard Joe Octave scored a career-high 33 points to go along with 11 rebounds as Holy Cross upset Georgetown 68-67 at Capital One Arena.
Despite being pegged as double-digit underdogs, Holy Cross kept the game close and threatened to erase the gap for long stretches. They finally took the lead on Octave’s three-pointer with 56 seconds remaining, giving the Crusaders their first advantage since the score was 6-3 early in the first half.
Georgetown led by as many as 11 points during the second frame, but couldn’t find the knockout blow to put the game beyond reach. Holy Cross refused to fold, edging closer and closer until Octave won it for the visitors with his second triple of the night. The Hoyas had one final possession with the chance to win it, but an inbounds pass intended for junior forward Dontrez Styles was knocked away, letting the clock roll to zeroes.
Sophomore guard Jayden Epps led the Hoyas with 22 points, but his night was marred by inefficient shooting. Epps shot 7-19 from the field, including 4-11 from beyond the arc. Freshman guard Rowan Brumbaugh chipped in with 17 points on 6-11 shooting. Epps and Brumbaugh were on the court for most of the night, playing 38 and 36 minutes, respectively.
Poor free throw shooting helped sink the Hoyas, as the hosts shot just 12-19 from the stripe. Late-game free throws proved crucial, as senior center Supreme Cook missed two foul shots with just over a minute left in the game and the chance to make it a two-possession game. Octave hit the go-ahead three on the ensuing Holy Cross possession.
Georgetown Head Coach Ed Cooley was frank in his assessment of his team’s performance and said after the game “When you play with a lack of knowledge, and you play haphazardly, you’re not going to have success over the course of 40 minutes. Not happening. I thought we were weak today.”
The Hoyas let their largest lead slip in under five minutes, as their 11-point edge was countered by an 11-0 run by Holy Cross to tie the game at the under-4 timeout. Part of the Hoyas’ problem was rebounding. Holy Cross outrebounded the hosts 41-31, including 15 offensive rebounds. Octave alone had six offensive boards. Cooley said “rebounding is a will and a want and an attitude. And right now, my team just don’t have it.”
Crusaders Head Coach Dave Paulsen called the win “a building block to continue to get better” and said while room for improvement remains, “it’s way better to teach from a win than a loss.”
The loss drops Georgetown to 1-1 on the young season, on a night when Cooley was presented with a commemorative basketball celebrating his first win for Georgetown, earned earlier this week against Le Moyne. Up next for the Hoyas is a road test against Big 10 (and ex-Big East) foe Rutgers on Wednesday, Nov. 15. Tip-off is slated for 8:30 p.m. in Piscataway, N.J.
