With 6:30 left in the Georgetown men’s basketball team’s (13-11 overall, 5-8 Big East) 71-56 romp over Providence (13-12 overall, 6-8 Big East) on Tuesday, Friars’ sophomore forward Ryan Gomes backed down Hoyas’ junior forward Mike Sweetney. Over the past five minutes, the two 6-7 behemoths had combined to score 18 of the game’s last 19 points and Gomes was looking for more. He turned and jumped, but Sweetney, right with him, reached up and blocked Gomes’ shot out of existence.
Sweetney’s block epitomized the Friars’ night: Providence tried to come back throughout the second half, but each time Georgetown swatted them away.
“Providence made a couple of runs against us, but we kept our composure,” said Georgetown Head Coach Craig Esherick. “I thought closing the ballgame was more important than our convincing victory.”
The win was the Hoyas’ third in their last four games, following a six-game losing streak. Currently, Georgetown is in fifth place in the Big East West Division, one game ahead of West Virginia and two in front of Rutgers and firmly in control of its fate: The Hoyas’ magic number to clinch a trip to New York City’s Big East Tournament is two.
“We’re getting a lot closer to New York,” said Esherick. “We can control our own destiny.”
Against Providence, Georgetown led for the entire first half, but never managed to put the Friars away. After being down 21-13 with 8:38 left, Gomes keyed the Friars comeback, scoring nine points in the last eight minutes of the half, while Providence’s zone defense held Sweetney to only five points on 2-5 shooting. The half ended with Georgetown up only 33-32.
A shot clock violation on their opening possession portended an ominous half for the Friars. Following the violation, the Hoyas rattled off a 14-2 run, behind Sweetney and strong contributions from junior swingman Gerald Riley and senior forward Victor Samnick. The three played solidly the entire game, with Sweetney leading the Hoyas with 20 points, while Riley added 19 and Samnick 12.
“I thought the most important part of the game was how we started the second half by getting the lead and putting Providence on its heels,” said Esherick.
Samnick turned in his most impressive performance of the season, his seventh-straight game in the starting lineup replacing senior center Wesley Wilson, who left the University on Feb. 7 for personal reasons. Averaging 9.7 points the last three games, Samnick, formerly known only for his defense, is showing signs of offensive ability. His lay-up with 5:12 left, after the Friars had cut Georgetown’s lead to five, put Providence away for good.
“We want to get the pressure off Mike,” said Samnick. “The more shots I make, the less other teams will double him.”
Equally imposing was Georgetown’s perimeter defense. The Friars had won their previous three games behind improved guard play, especially by junior Sheiku Kabba. Kabba recorded a career-high 25 points in the Friars’ most recent win, a 70-60 victory over Villanova, and Providence is 9-1 this year when he scores more than 10 points.
The Hoyas held Kabba to only six points on 2-7 shooting and his backcourt mate, first-year Donnie McGrath, to only three. Frontcourt star Gomes, however, did play well, leading all scorers with 21.
“We didn’t want to let more than one player beat us tonight,” said Riley. “Our guards did a great job.”
Similarly, Georgetown forced 25 turnovers, 11 above the Friars’ season average.
“Tonight it was their defense,” said Providence Head Coach Tim Welsh. “Their guards were pressing up and we just didn’t attack the gaps.”
Georgetown’s defense had another strong game in Sunday’s 74-72 victory at Miami. The Hoyas forced 24 Hurricanes turnovers and held 6-10 junior star Darius Rice to only 12 points. Still, Georgetown played just as sloppy, turning the ball over 20 times. Despite leading by six with 1:52 left in the game, the Hoyas almost let the victory slip away.
With 21 seconds left, Miami first-year guard Robert Hite tipped in a Hurricanes’ miss to cut Georgetown’s lead to one at 73-72. On the Hoyas’ ensuing possession, sophomore guard Tony Bethel dribbled across halfcourt where the Hurricanes defense swarmed him. First-year guard Eric Wilkins stole the ball from Bethel and raced down the court to set up Miami’s chance to win. Bethel scrambled after him, was able to tip the ball away and save it from going out of bounds by hurling the ball across the court to first-year forward Brandon Bowman. Bowman was subsequently fouled and hit one of two foul shots, before Miami’s last gasp three-pointer missed badly at the buzzer. The two-point win was only Georgetown’s second in eight games decided by less than five points or overtime this season.
The win, however, may have calmed some of the Hoyas’ end-of-game nerves. During pregame introductions against Providence, the Hoyas were relaxed and joking with each other. In contrast to the wild shooting and poor decision-making that were the hallmark of the Hoyas past late-game collapses, Georgetown milked the shot clock at the end of the second half. With 3:54 remaining, Georgetown passed the ball around inside and found an open Riley, who drained a jumper with three seconds left on the 35-second clock.
“It feels good,” said Riley. “What a better time than now to put a complete game together.”
