Coming into Wednesday night, the lingering question around the Hilltop was whether this Georgetown team could recover from Saturday’s beat down at the hands of Creighton. The Hoyas responded with a resounding yes, silencing the skeptics and gaining a much-needed bounce back victory in the form of an 82-73 win over DePaul. Not only did the Hoyas succeed in defending home court, but they also regained fourth place in the conference, moving one step closer to avoiding the dreaded Wednesday night doubleheader of the Big East Tournament.
Jessie Govan led the Hoyas with 26 points on 10-18 shooting, while Mac McClung chipped in 15 more as the Hoyas shot over 49% from the field. DePaul was still able to keep pace offensive, converting 50% of their shots as well, but it was Georgetown’s poise that gave them the advantage. Unlike most games this season, Ewing’s young squad was successfully able to limit turnovers, tallying only 11 compared with the Blue Demons’ 15. From start to finish, it felt as if Georgetown was much more in control of the contest, never allowing DePaul to rattle them or steal momentum away from the home team.
The Hoyas needed a strong start to the game to rid themselves of the bad memories from last Saturday. After a few minutes of back and forth play, the Hoyas got exactly that, utilizing a 6-0 run from their B-team, plus James Akinjo, to open up a 7-point lead. DePaul standout Max Strus was able to momentarily stall the momentum, tallying 10 first-half points including knocking down two shots from deep. Paul Reed was also a problem for the Georgetown defense, doing damage in the paint and on the offensive glass. Reed finished the game with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Strus lead the Blue Demons with 25 on the night.
But the Hoyas were not to be deterred; fantastic ball movement opened up Josh LeBlanc for a slam. On the ensuing DePaul possession, Mac McClung took the ball away and converted a layup in transition.
A quick DePaul bucket did little to slow the run, as LeBlanc responded by draining a rare three-pointer to put the Hoyas up 11 (showing glimpses of how high his ceiling is).
Though Georgetown was able to keep its opponent at arm’s reach the rest of the period, it was certainly not without its drama, as the matchup turned chippy in more than one occasion. With 3:16 to go in the half, DePaul’s Femi Olujobi fouled Hoyas forward Jessie Govan hard, landing awkwardly on top of him on the floor. As usual, LeBlanc was the first to step up in defense of his teammate, getting in a brief altercation with Jaylen Butz, which warranted double technical fouls from the officials. Though some may not agree, I can’t help but appreciate Josh’s willingness to stand up for his teammates and send a message to the opposition. While talent can only get you so far, it is heart, grit and teamwork that get the job done. If the entire Hoyas roster played with the same attitude as LeBlanc, this team could be a formidable force for any opponent.
It seemed as if this physical play only motivated Georgetown further. McClung once again intercepted a DePaul pass and turned in a highlight reel dunk at the other end. Govan, who had gotten a number of touches early, began to heat up, splashing home a three-pointer with seconds to go in the half to give Georgetown a 49-34 advantage heading into the locker room.
Coming out of the half, the Georgetown offense continued to hum. McClung showed a commitment to attacking the rim in the opening minutes of the second period, converting a difficult up-and-under layup and getting fouled a drive the next possession. Still, DePaul attempted to keep the game within reach, and to some success, running off a mini-run starting around the 15-minute mark to pull within 10. At this point, senior Jessie Govan began to take matters into his own hands, knocking down two three-pointers from the left wing within a two-minute span. Not to be outdone was DePaul’s Eli Cain, who strung together three shots from beyond the arc to top Govan and trim the lead to single digits with 7:30 to go.
Unfortunately for the Blue Demons, they would not get much closer than that. After a Trey Mourning dunk coming out of a timeout, the two sides would mostly trade buckets for the next four to five minutes, with Georgetown able to keep DePaul just out of reach. A miraculous fadeaway jumper from Strus with 2:18 to play brought it to within 10 once again, but a scoring drought of 1:23 from both teams kept Georgetown comfortably ahead with a minute to play. A late and-one from DePaul’s Devin Gage made it a 7-point game, but a questionable decision to not foul from coach Dave Leitao left the Hoyas content to drain valuable seconds from the clock. A missed desperation three from Strus and two free throws from Govan iced the game and the Hoyas drew first blood against DePaul, whom Ewing’s team will face once more a week from today in Chicago.
Notably absent from the court in the Hoyas’ victory was sophomore swingman Jamorko Pickett. After Coach Ewing surprisingly opted in favor of Jagan Mosely in the starting lineup, Hoya fans were left to wonder why the promising Pickett, although in uniform, did not play a single minute in the contest. Pickett certainly has not been spectacular of late, struggling to regain his shot after a few hot games in early February, but it is doubtful that his play was the reason for Wednesday’s benching, which Ewing justified as a “coach’s decision” in the post-game press conference. With some disciplinary measure being the most probable cause, we will likely have to wait and see what role, if any, Pickett will play in the Hoyas next game against Seton Hall.
Surely a victory over DePaul is nothing to write home about, but the consistent effort that Georgetown put forth Wednesday night is certainly somewhere to build off of going forward. At this point in the season, winning is all that matters, and that is done one game at a time. For now, the Hoyas will turn their attention to Saturday evening, when they have a dinner date with the visiting Seton Hall Pirates.
