Georgetown showed a lot of fight in their 73-56 loss to San Diego State during their late-night Thanksgiving showdown in Anaheim. Unfortunately, the Aztecs got the win with a margin of victory that did not feel indicative of how the game actually went.
The high-paced affair felt like a narrative of peaks and valleys. Some Georgetown players went off while others failed to deliver meaningful productivity. It certainly did not help that SDSU was playing in-state while the Hoyas had to fly across the country. Although on paper this may go down as a neutral site game, anybody listening on TV could hear that the uncomfortable Aztec hollers drowned out the smaller Hoya fan contingent in the Anaheim Convention Center.
On the bright side, Dante Harris and Aminu Mohammed showed out; the pair alone combined for a whopping 39 points. Mohammed drove well and found his way to the basket (while also distributing more than we have seen in the past, as well). Harris seems to have settled back into his jump shot and filled up the scoring sheet from the mid-range.
On the other hand, the centers combined for a fairly weak outing. Timothy Ighoefe was forced to sit the majority of the first half after committing two fouls in the first two minutes, and both Ryan Mutombo and Malcolm Wilson had a ton of trouble trying to contain the SDSU big men. They were getting outrebounded and even blocked under the basket. On the night, the Aztecs outscored the Hoyas in the paint 32 to 22.
This game felt within reach for the majority of the contest, and the Hoyas cut the deficit to four points with 9:39 to play, but a late Aztec swarm tilted the scales—and the scoreboard—in favor of the California school. The momentum really seemed to shift after a significant Hoyas’ run was stifled by a questionable official review for a potential flagrant foul on Aminu Mohammed for what seems like a pretty run-of-the-mill spin for a lay-up. The referees did charge the Aztecs for a timeout on the failed attempt, but the pause in the action did take the wind out of Georgetown’s sails.
Perhaps the Hoyas were just bound to run out of gas. Ewing had the Blue and Gray running a fairly successful three-quarter press for the majority of the second half. It disrupted San Diego State’s tempo at a time when it felt like they may just run away with it. Unfortunately, the Hoyas may have emptied the tank in this effort so much so that Georgetown did not make a field goal for the final nine minutes of the game. Yikes.
Matthew Bradley, the Aztecs’ clear best player throughout the season, put on a show himself. The guard racked up 17 points and 8 rebounds in a typical night for the star. The rest of SDSU’s players also shot the ball at an impressive clip. In fact, SDSU shot 44% from beyond-the-arc while Georgetown only managed a depressing 20% clip.
The trio of Rice, Carey, and Ighoefe couldn’t buy a bucket all night. Those three starters only make 2 of 18 shots from the field. I think any fan can realize that if those guys only put up those numbers, the Hoyas simply cannot win games. It should also be noted that Collin Holloway and Kobe Clark made their triumphant returns to the hardwood tonight off of injury, but both of them failed to score a point.
The good news is that we have seen each of those three starters who struggled tonight have productive games already this season. Unfortunately, they will have very little time to right the ship as your Georgetown Hoyas will face off against the Saint Joseph Hawks in the consolation game of the Wooden Legacy Classic on Friday, November 26, at 9:00 ET on ESPNU. Let’s hope that Ewing can get his guys back in their groove against the Hawks.
