Last night, the Georgetown men’s basketball team played their best game all season—well, best three-quarters of a game.
Despite leading No. 1 Duke 44-41 (10-0 overall, 1-0 ACC) at halftime, the Hoyas (8-2 overall, 0-0 Big East) fell victim to a 17-3 Duke second-half spurt in a 93-86 loss at raucous Cameron Indoor Arena, in Durham, N.C. Like the Hoyas’ previous loss to the University of Virginia, the culprits were foul trouble in the front-court and poor decision-making by the guards. Unlike the loss to Virginia, Duke did not give the Hoyas a chance to come back, shooting an astounding 68 percent in the second half.
“I thought we did a heck of a job going in here and playing well,” said Georgetown Head Coach Craig Esherick. “To tell you the truth, three-quarters of that game I was extremely proud of how we played—that one quarter we have to work on.”
In the first half, Georgetown played calm and relaxed, even in Cameron’s hostile atmosphere, feeding the ball to junior power forward Mike Sweetney in the paint and allowing sophomore guard Tony Bethel to slash to the hoop. Both players scored in double-figures in the first half. Another slasher, sophomore guard Darrel Owens, came off the bench to add seven in the half.
Defensively, the Hoyas were just as on point. Junior swingman Gerald Riley held Duke’s leading scorer, first-year guard J.J. Redick, scoreless in the first half and the strong interior defense forced Duke to shoot from the outside, where they only hit one of 10 three-point attempts.
“They had us basically running back on their heels,” said Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski. “We dictated to their defense in the first half.”
Even when Sweetney left the game because of two fouls with 5:45 left in the half, the Hoyas stood their ground. Tight, physical Hoyas’ defense led to a carrying violation by Duke junior guard Chris Duhon, a poor shot by Redick and a traveling violation by sophomore guard Daniel Ewing. The turnovers led to a thunderous one-handed slam by Owens that started a 8-3 Georgetown run to end the half. Duke also shot only 40 percent from the free-throw line in the half, adding to their woes. Only senior forward Dahntay Jones’ 13 first-half points and Ewing’s 10 kept Duke from being dominated.
“In the first half, I thought we did a good job settling the crowd down and really keeping them out of the game,” said Esherick. “We also played well with Mike out of the game.”
Still, like he has all season, Redick provided the catalyst for Duke’s turnaround. His back-to-back baskets two minutes into the second half started the Blue Devils’ run. Seven points into the run, Sweetney picked up his fourth foul, forcing him to the bench. Immediately afterwards, Duhon hit a three-pointer that put the Blue Devils up to stay and put the “crazy” back into the Cameron Crazies.
“When Chris made that three-pointer it was a huge play,” said Krzyzewski. “For about the about the next seven or eight minutes he made play after play.”
“I thought the run Duke made at the middle part or early part of the second half from an offensive to a defensive standpoint really took us right out of the game,” said Esherick. “They hit those two big threes that really got the crowd back in the game.”
At that point, the Georgetown defense began to unravel. Junior forward Victor Samnick and first-year forward Brandon Bowman were caught guarding the quicker Duhon who made them pay with drives to the hoop. With 12:55 left, senior center Wesley Wilson also picked up his fourth foul, which forced Sweetney back into the game and significantly weakened the Hoyas’ front-court. Still, the Hoyas were able to battle back into the game and close to 68-63 with 10:40 left.
Then came some bad decisions on offense.
First-year guard Ashanti Cook shot an airball; Bethel shot an airball; Cook threw the ball away; sophomore guard Drew Hall missed badly on a three; Riley missed long on a three. These misfires, coupled with precision passing from Duhon, led to an 8-0 Duke run. Georgetown never threatened again.
“We took a couple of ill-advised three-point shots,” said Esherick. “It was competitive people trying to get us back in the game. It was the guys I wanted taking the shots, but they took them too quickly.”
Sweetney ended the game leading Georgetown with 23 points and six rebounds, despite mostly being double- and triple-teamed by the Blue Devils.
For Duke, Jones and Ewing ended with career-highs in points, scoring 22 and 19 respectively while Redick added 13, all in the second half. First-year forward Shelden Williams added a double-double, exploiting Georgetown’s foul trouble in the front-court.
In addition to shooting 68 percent in the second half, the Blue Devils stepped up on the boards and finished the game out-rebounding the much larger Hoyas 45-37. Duke also scored 35 more points than Georgetown had given up on average this year.
“In the second half we just got too tired,” said Esherick. “When you’re playing the No. 1 team in the country, it’s what you expect. We never could cut [the lead] to manageable digits.”
Despite the loss, the Duke game was a valuable tune-up for the most important part of Georgetown’s schedule: the Big East. The Hoyas open their conference season on Sunday at 2 p.m. at home against West Virginia (9-3 overall, 1-0 Big East), considered one of the weaker teams in the conference. The Mountaineers defeated then-No. 9 Florida and Southeastern Conference foe Tennessee. Still, they lost to perennial doormat Duquesne and were smothered by an average St. Louis University team, losing by 30. Sophomore guard Drew Schifino is the Mountaineers’ key player, leading them to a five-point win over Miami in their first Big East game.
Despite the loss last night, Georgetown demonstrated that they have the intensity you need in the Big East.
“Georgetown is not going to go away,” said Krzyzewski. “They have too much spirit and togetherness.”
Still, to consistently play at high level that Georgetown showed it was capable of last night, the Hoyas will need more than scrappy play—they must learn not to lose composure in the clutch.
“We have to get ready for West Virginia on Sunday,” said Esherick. “We have to learn from this experience and I think we will.”
