“I didn’t want to make the decision, but I had to. I feel that it was the correct one,” said Georgetown Head Coach Craig Esherick regarding his choice not to play in the National Invitiation Tournament. “After 30 games, I clearly came to the conclusion that it would benefit us more to stay in class than to play any more games even though we’re a young team,” he said.
Because of the NCAA Tournament’s use of the MCI Center this week, Georgetown could not secure a home game for any round in the NIT. Initially, however, the Hoyas had been slotted to play at the University of Richmond, a situation amenable to the desires of Esherick to play close to home so that the Hoya players would not miss too many classes. Instead, ESPN, the network of the NIT, wanted Georgetown to play at the University of Iowa. According to Esherick, the Hoyas were even willing to play a “home” game at George Mason University to placate the network, but this solution was rejected since George Mason also made the NIT. When Esherick realized that there was no way the Hoyas could play a game close to home, he decided not to participate in the NIT.
Appearing in no postseason tournament for the first time in 27 years, only one year after a magical Sweet Sixteen run in the NCAAs, served as a fitting conclusion to the 2001-02 campaign for Georgetown’s Men’s Basketball team. The season was marked by more ups and downs than your typical roller coaster ride.
Following a 88-69 victory over Rutgers two weeks ago at MCI Center, highlighted by 21 points from first-year guard Tony Bethel, the Hoyas moved on to the Big East Tournament in New York. Georgetown received the No. 3 seed in the West, giving them a first-round date with Providence College, a team they hadn’t faced all season. The last time Providence and Georgetown did collide last year, PC decimated the Hoyas, 103-79. What happened in New York was, in many ways, a summary of Georgetown’s entire season, condensed into two days of frenzied basketball.
On 2 p.m. on the first day of action in the Big East Tournament the Hoyas jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead against the Friars, but gradually let it slip with sloppy play. Providence senior guard and Big East Defensive Player of the year John Linehan was a defensive presence, helping to create 15 turnovers for the Hoyas in the first half; he also sank a runner with 8:52 remaining to bring the score to 20-17 in favor of Georgetown. Helped by sophomore forward Gerald Riley’s solid performance from the line, The Hoyas went into the half up, 37-30.
With 14:12 remaining in the game, and Georgetown holding a 46-36 lead, Sweetney committed his fourth foul. Esherick had no choice but to remove him for a spell, and without a significant low-post presence for Georgetown, Providence worked the ball inside to their first-year star, Ryan Gomes, who finished with 20 points to lead the Friars. Without their leading scorer, the Hoyas were ice cold from the field, not completing a field goal between 16:19 and 11:09 left.
With 6:27 left, Sweetney was assessed a foul. As Georgetown fans resigned themselves to a first-round exit, the refs announced it was a technical foul and would not be counted as a personal foul. Sweetney stayed in the game, and Esherick kept him in only for offense, replacing him on defense so as to avoid drawing his fifth foul. Sweetney managed to tie the game, 61-61, with 2:58 remaining. Linehan countered, dropping another runner with 2:00 left to put the Friars up, 65-64.
With 14.8 seconds left and the shot clock off, first-year guard Drew Hall was fouled, and managed to hit both shots with 14.8 seconds remaining, giving the Hoyas a 66-65 lead.
Providence forward Abdul Mills got the ball on the wing with 11 seconds left, and swooped in on the baseline, scoring on a flip off the glass.
Down one with nine seconds remaining and no timeouts, Hall took it the length of the floor, and when Providence’s Tuukka Kotti stepped up to defend him at the free throw line, he dished off to Wilson. Wilson threw down a thundering dunk to put the Hoyas up one again, with three seconds left.
“When I got the ball, I just pushed it,” said Hall.
The game, however, wasn’t over. Linehan raced up the court and got as far as the free throw line, launching up a shot that just missed going in, sending the Hoyas home. Linehan ended up on the court, sobbing.
Following a late-season win at Syracuse, and this victory in the face of terrible free throw shooting and ball handling, Georgetown fans had reason to believe that the Hoyas had finally solved the late-game woes that had plagued them all year.
“We lost two, three games in overtime. Two by one point in regulation. We’ve been losing close games the entire season. We had to start getting breaks at some point. Today was that day,” said Braswell, who finished with 10 points.
Miami, ranked No. 18 nationally, had all five starters averaging in double figures. Marcus Barnes, the sophomore shooting guard and least-heralded of all Miami starters, ended Georgetown’s season at 19-11 by dropping 27 points on the Hoyas, including 6-10 from three-point range. With 14:41 remaining in the first half, Miami had already buried four three-pointers on Georgetown’s 2-3 zone defense. They shot 11 of 24 from long range for the game.
Down 35-33 at the half, Georgetown opened the second by giving the Hurricanes a taste of their own game: Braswell and Riley both cashed three-pointers within three minutes to put Georgetown up, 43-39. With 8:06 remaining, Georgetown had a 61-53 lead on the Hurricanes, and seemed destined to be heading to Friday night’s semifinal game against Pittsburgh.
“We had a lot of chances to win that game,” admitted Esherick.
With 5:08 remaining, Miami’s deadliest weapon, sophomore forward Darius Rice, finally got hot. Stifled most of the game by solid Georgetown defense, Rice scored 11 straight Miami points, including back-to-back three pointers, to tie the game, 68-68, with 2:28 left.
With 9.5 seconds left, Freeman tried to lob a pass across the court to Bethel. The ball flew high, off Bethel’s hands, into the crowd. Miami ball. Game tied.
“We had a play designed there, but it sure wasn’t that one,” said Esherick.
Rice airballed a three-pointer for the Hurricanes, sending the contest into overtime, a period that Miami dominated, eventually winning the game, 84-76.
“When you’re down 10, you can’t get frustrated, and you have to run your game, make some shots, get some stops,” said Miami Head Coach Perry Clark.
Wilson, in only his second conference tourney, proved how far his game has come: He recorded 16 points and 10 rebounds against Miami, to complement his 13 points and 9 boards against the Friars.
“We did a good job on Rice and their other guys until the end,” said Esherick. “We played well enough to win this game. I’ve had this same feeling a bit too much this season.”
