Electric. Intense. Speechless.
I had to take some time to sleep on Georgetown’s wild 77-71 2OT victory over Seton Hall last night at Capital One Arena. I was buzzing with emotion after broadcasting Patrick Ewing’s biggest win of his coaching career. Watching the players swarm Jessie Govan after he fought through early adversity to [lead his team to victory gave me all the feels.
This win feels like a turning point for Georgetown for numerous reasons. Firstly, the top-ranked offensive team in the Big East won a game with its defense rather than its offense. Ewing’s biggest issue throughout the season was to figure out how to get the Hoyas to consistently bring focus, hustle, and intensity on the defensive end. And that’s exactly what they did last night.
Secondly, the Hoyas did not flinch in the face of adversity. Nothing was falling for Georgetown throughout this contest. Jessie Govan even went into halftime scoreless on his senior night (0-7 from the field). Rather than shrink from the moment, Jessie stayed locked in and battled throughout. And his teammates rallied around him.
But moving forward in this piece, I’m going to look at each player individually and talk about their contributions to Georgetown’s crucial win last night. All five starters played monumental minutes and made the plays necessary to carry Georgetown to victory. All of them deserve recognition.
Jessie Govan
This was Jessie’s night. Jessie will undoubtedly go down as one of Georgetown’s most underrated stars (mostly due to the fact that he’s played through one of the toughest periods Georgetown has endured). But last night was a testament to how much Jessie has grown since Super Bowl Sunday when Villanova held him scoreless in only 13 minutes of action. Rather than let that go to his head this time around, Jessie stayed engaged on defense, hauling in rebounds and blocking shots (none more emphatic than his chase down block of Myles Powell).
Jessie said that his teammates just told him to stay aggressive on offense in the second half. And that’s exactly what Jessie did. Jessie exploded in the second overtime period, accounting for all of Georgetown’s 11 points while bringing Seton Hall’s defense to its knees. In the clip below, Jessie muscles Sandro Mamukelashvili into the paint for the easy deuce and then pops off a screen he set for Jagan and sank his only three of the game.
Jessie knew the stakes going into this game. A loss would’ve essentially eliminated the Hoyas’ pathway to an at-large NCAA Tournament bid. Jessie deserves a shot to show off what he can do in the Big Dance. But deserving something means nothing in college basketball and Jessie knows that. He’s going to do everything in his power to earn his shot.
James Akinjo
James stepped up in a big way last night. Back in early February, Quincy McKnight schooled Akinjo in Seton Hall’s dominant 90-75 win over the Hoyas. James only had 6 points on 1-6 shooting from the field with 3 turnovers.
Everyone who follows Hoya hoops knows James has a bulldog mentality. His grit, fearlessness, and emotion came through late when Georgetown needed him most last night. In a turning point of the game, Seton Hall led by a score of 55-51 with under 5 minutes to play and Quincy McKnight, the same player who shut him down earlier this season, slapped the floor emphatically. James, undeterred, worked him to sleep and blew by him, soaring in for the crafty lay-up. James then got right in McKnight’s face and slapped the floor himself, igniting Capital One Arena.
James’s toughness and leadership were on full display as he poured in 16 points on 6-19 shooting while dishing out 4 assists and recording 4 steals. In the clip below, James works Reynolds into the paint, gets him in the air on a smooth pump fake, and then finishes the and-1 play.
James has certainly had his ups and downs this season, but he rose to the occasion in the biggest game of the season. His bulldog, never back down mentality brought the Hoyas back. This young buck is going to take over the Big East in the next few years.
Jagan Mosely
Jagan was unquestionably the unsung hero of Georgetown’s win last night. The job Jagan did on Myles Powell was nothing short of remarkable and he deserves much more credit than he is receiving. What makes Powell so dangerous is his ability to knock down contested shots from deep. A staple of Seton Hall’s offense is running Powell through off ball screens and having him curl into a quick shot off of the catch. But the only truly clean look Powell got off of a screen when Jagan was guarding him was his first points of the game.
Mosely’s physicality was crucial in stopping this strategy. Jagan utilized his strength and anticipation to fight over and through those screens rather than dip under to prevent Powell from stepping into those three-pointers he loves. People will point to Powell’s 35 points and say incorrectly that Georgetown did a poor job of slowing him down. But when a player puts up 27 (!) shots, he should score 35 points. Jagan held Powell scoreless from the 9:30 – 2:30 in the second half. He has certainly earned staying power in the starting line-up.
To say that Powell is anything less than a star is foolish. His toughness and leadership kept the Pirates in the game, but Jagan stepped up a played like a star too. And that’s a big reason the Hoyas won.
Josh LeBlanc
Josh LeBlanc is the future vocal leader of this program. And all those traits that make Hoya fans love him were on display last night. Josh is a ball of energy that relishes physical basketball. Josh dominated the glass down the stretch of the ball game, hauling in 17 total rebounds (8 of which were offensive).
Josh helped the Hoyas keep pace with the Pirates early on as he attacked the rim in the half-court offense. LeBlanc ended the game with 14 total points on 6-14 shooting from the field. LeBlanc flaunted some of his inside post skills in the second half as well. In the clip below, Josh faces up on the perimeter, uses his body to gain deeper position, and then hooks a gorgeous pass beyond the help defender to get Jessie his first bucket of the game.
Mac McClung
Mac had a quieter game by his standards but still made a big impact late. On the scoresheet, Mac went 2-9 from the field and only scored 8 points. But the past two games, Mac has been making fantastic strides as a defender. McClung’s potential as a scoring guard is absurdly high, but if Mac can keep up his recent stretch of solid defense, watch out.
Mac has done a wonderful job of anticipating and staying focused on the defensive end. His help defense on dribble penetration has created numerous turnovers in the past couple of games. A defense is only as strong as its weakest link. If Mac can stay hot defensively, Georgetown is going to be that much more dangerous.
Needless to say, this was a colossal win. Obviously, everyone is talking about how Georgetown can sneak into the Big Dance. It’s exciting, but this team needs to remain calm and focus on beating DePaul on Wednesday. Nothing is a given this time of the season, but until then let’s enjoy. Roll Hoyas!
