If defense wins championships, these Georgetown Hoyas won’t be taking home any trophies anytime soon.
With seven minutes to play in Tuesday night’s bout with Seton Hall, it looked like Georgetown might just hold on for their first win of conference play. Instead, the Pirates put their foot on the gas pedal, knocking down three-pointer after three-pointer to seize control of the game and escape with a 70-63 victory.
For the Hoyas, it was familiar miscues on the defensive end that proved to be the difference maker. At one point down the stretch, Seton Hall scored on seven consecutive possessions. With the loss, Georgetown falls to 0-8 in conference play, a far cry from the program that hoisted the Big East Tournament trophy just 10 months ago.
Tuesday night’s contest was a back-and-forth affair for much of the first half. Early on, Dante Harris had the ball moving well for the Georgetown offense and Aminu Mohammed scored the Hoyas’ first five points. The Hoyas seemed to be making a concerted effort to attack off the dribble in the early going, rather than settle for looks from the outside.
Midway through the first half, Seton Hall began to gain some separation. With standout guard Bryce Aiken sidelined due to a concussion, Syracuse transfer (smart man for getting out of ‘Cuse) Kadary Richmond stepped up and showed off his ability to score at multiple levels. Richmond finished the game with 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Miscues from the Hoyas allowed the Pirates to extend their lead. Georgetown’s shot selection was particularly bad at times, and Seton Hall center Ike Obiagu disrupted countless shots around the rim. “A couple of times we tried to score over him, and that’s why he had five blocked shots,” Ewing said of Obiagu’s impact on the game.
Several ugly turnovers did nothing but compound the Hoyas’ issues.
Seton Hall pushed their lead to double digits with only a few ticks left before halftime. Fortunately, Kaiden Rice connected on a miraculous buzzer-beater three pointer to take some momentum into the locker room and end the half with the Hoyas trailing the Pirates 35-28.
Coming out of the break, Georgetown went dead cold from the field. In fact, the Hoyas went almost five minutes without scoring. While Georgetown left the door wide open for Seton Hall to pull away, the Pirates largely failed to take advantage, scoring just four points of their own over this stretch.
When the Hoyas finally found their footing on offense, things began to turn in their favor. Donald Carey and Kaiden Rice drained back-to-back three pointers to end Georgetown’s scoring drought and cut the deficit to just five. Buoyed by the energy of the home crowd, the Hoyas continued to press their advantage. Over a six and a half minute stretch, Georgetown went on a 21-5 run to jump back in front and take a five-point lead, their largest of the second half.
This run was an all-around team effort. On the night, four Hoyas—Carey, Mohammed, Harris, and Rice—finished in double figures, and each knocked down big shots during Georgetown’s scoring outburst. Freshman Ryan Mutombo also played a critical role on both sides of the ball. He recorded three momentum-changing blocks, and held his own against the 7’2” Ike Obiagu. Mutombo also chipped in six points, including this put-back slam which brought Ryan’s father Dikembe to his feet.
While Georgetown certainly punched Seton Hall in the mouth, the Pirates had a counterpunch of their own. All season, the Hoyas have struggled to guard the three-point line. That weakness was exposed during the critical final minutes of Tuesday night’s contest. Seton Hall scored on seven consecutive possessions, including five three-pointers, to regain the lead and silence the home crowd. Tray Jackson was a difference-maker for the Pirates during this run, scoring 13 of his game-high 21 points in the second half.
Speaking after the loss, Coach Patrick Ewing was visibly displeased with his team’s defensive effort during crunch time. Ewing was particularly critical of freshman forward Jalin Billingsley, saying “We can’t be doing those high school stuff. You got to man up. Everybody’s got to man up.”
Over the course of just three and a half minutes, the Hoyas went from leading by four points to trailing by seven points. Georgetown had several good looks of their own to make things interesting, but they could not find their mark. Instead, the Hoyas were destined for yet another disheartening loss in what has become a nightmare of a season for Patrick Ewing and company.
At this point, it’s hard to know if there’s any hope for turning this year’s campaign around. But perhaps a game at McDonough Arena in front of a raucous students-only crowd is just what the doctor ordered for these beleaguered Hoyas.
