Georgetown fell to TCU 80-73 on Saturday afternoon in a back-and-forth battle that could have easily fallen the Hoyas’ way.
The Hoyas came into Saturday’s game fresh off a three-game winning streak. Yet fans found out right away that the team would be without sophomore point guard and key contributor Dante Harrris, who was in a boot on the bench. The matchup against the Horned Frogs was pretty even for most of the game, but they pulled away late to give the Hoyas a tough loss heading into conference play.
Things did not get off to a good start for Georgetown. The Hoyas missed several open shots early and some poor three-point defense led to a couple quick threes for TCU. After another easy layup from Horned Frogs’ star Mike Miles, Patrick Ewing used his first timeout at around the 16 minute mark. In fewer than five minutes of action, Georgetown had already committed three turnovers. Aminu Mohammed started off the game 1 for 6 from the field, but he made a nice triple to tie the game up at 10 apiece.
Both Tyler Beard and Kaiden Rice struggled in the first half. Beard was asked to do a lot, getting his first career start as a result of Harris’ injury. He struggled to get into a rhythm early and committed a few careless turnovers where TCU stripped the ball from him for easy buckets on the other end. Rice knocked down one triple, but other than that was not very noteworthy in the offensive end.
The Hoyas also did not look great with their transition defense throughout the entire first half. Charles O’Bannon Jr. connected on several attempts from beyond the arc as a result of Georgetown’s subpar close-outs to the ball. Despite the struggles in transition on the defensive end, the Hoyas still went into the half only down 39-36. Aminu Mohammed continued to showcase his talents on the defensive end with a swat out of bounds on a Horned Frogs three-point attempt in their final possession before the half. Georgetown led TCU in points in the paint (14 to 12), and both teams had a poor seven turnovers.
The second half remained a battle up until the final stretch. The Hoyas went on a 10-2 run including a beautiful and-one from Mohammed and a Carey-to-Wilson dunk to give the Hoyas a 44-41 lead, forcing TCU to burn a timeout. Mohammed continued to demonstrate why he was a five-star recruit, obtaining another double-double on the season by the 14:43 mark in the second half. He finished the game with 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Hoyas in both categories.
The contest stayed tight, and the Hoyas were finally able to get Kaiden Rice going in the second half. He connected on three triples including a nice catch-and-shoot to give Georgetown a 51-49 lead with 12:07 left to play.
Patrick Ewing was forced to burn his third timeout with almost a quarter of the game remaining after Aminu Mohammed jumped on a loose ball, and this came back to hurt Georgetown towards the end of the game. The Hoyas and the Horned Frogs continued to go toe-to-toe, but TCU went on a big 12-3 run by the 4:30 mark. Mike Miles drilled a three right in front of Tyler Beard, and TCU also pounded the ball in the paint, successfully scoring several times. They took a 73-64 lead by this point, and it became tough for Georgetown to claw their way back. The Hoyas got it to within 75-70 with a minute to play, but Tyler Beard was unable to connect on a wide open three from the corner. The Hoyas still held onto the ball, however, but Don Carey was forced into a jump ball on the inbound, which went TCU’s way.
When the Hoyas did get it back, Don Carey pulled up for a three to cut the deficit to 76-73, but it was simply too little, too late. Aminu Mohammed was called for a questionable foul on a play where it looked like he was elbowed in the face, and this allowed TCU to hold onto the ball. The Horned Frogs made their free throws down the stretch, and the Hoyas went down by a final score of 80-73.
The difference maker in this one was Mike Miles for TCU, who stepped up big in the second half, finishing with 20 points. Tyler Beard gained some very solid experience starting the game and going against top talent like Miles. The Georgetown big men also played solid basketball and held their own, something that will hopefully continue heading into Big East play. Malcolm Wilson finished with 6 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks, and Ryan Mutombo finished with 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
The Hoyas travel to Providence on Wednesday to begin conference play. While the end result on Saturday was not what it could have been for Georgetown, the team played decent basketball for most of the game, especially without their starting point guard. Hopefully Harris—who is listed as day-to-day—returns against the Friars and the Hoyas pull off the upset.
