In one of the most embarrassing losses in University history, the men’s basketball team fell to St. John’s 65-58 Wednesday night. The Red Storm used just five scholarship players and nine players overall to control the tempo of the game.
After being defeated on the road by Temple and Virginia Tech, for the first time in school history, the Hoyas desperately needed to get back on track against a reeling St. John’s squad. The Johnnies’ squad was reduced to nine players because of a recent rape allegation which led to the expulsion or withdrawal of three of the team’s five starters. The Red Storm had started a walk-on junior, Phil Missere, for their games after the rape charges, and Head Coach Kevin O’Neill had shrunk his playing rotation to seven players during the stretch, which included two blowout losses.
Yet at home against Georgetown, St. John’s controlled the tempo of the game throughout. After losing in the final second in their matchup here in Washington, the Johnnies out-hustled the Hoyas with fierce rebounding and post play for the game, which matched schools that traditionally were two of the nation’s most competitive rivals. Crashing to the glass early and often, St. John’s found a way to get a number of close inside shots to help their cause.
Both teams shot horrendously in the game, with the Red Storm edging the Hoyas at 37.9 percent to Georgetown’s 35.6 percent. Sophomore forward Brandon Bowman nearly single-handedly kept the Hoyas in the game, scoring 20 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a team high 38 minutes. Senior co-captain Courtland Freeman also stepped up his presence inside, knocking home 10 points and adding four rebounds.
Meanwhile, St. John’s relied heavily on the contributions of their remaining two starters and their former sixth man: seniors Kyle Cuffe and Andre Stanley, and touted sophomore Darryll Hill. Both Cuffe and Stanley played all 40 of the game’s minutes, and Hill saw an unprecedented 37 minutes of game action. Hill consistently outdueled Georgetown senior co-captain Gerald Riley, sending home 22 points and helping hold Riley to six points on the game. Cuffe and Stanley were beasts in the paint, finishing with nine rebounds a piece and adding 15 and 13 points respectively. Missere, the walk-on, added eight points in his 29 minutes, only the third game this season in which he has reached double digits in minutes played.
The Hoyas played their third straight sloppy game, committing 22 turnovers, including 10 steals by St. John’s. The team also shot only 64.7 percent from the free throw line, missing out on six possible points that could have cut the final margin to a single point.
Making the loss more frustrating was the team’s game against Temple before their trip to New York. Needing a win against mediocre competition, the team headed to Philadelphia for a nationally televised game against the Owls on ESPN2. While the Owls had only two scorers in double figures, they combined for enough to points to send Temple to a 59-53 victory over the Hoyas.
Senior guard David Hawkins, among the nation’s leaders in points-per-game, shot 8-19 from inside the three-point arc in his game high 28-point performance. Georgetown had no answer for Hawkins, who sat out only four minutes in the game and made a number of key shots down the stretch to thwart a valiant Hoya rally. At one point Hawkins came around behind Georgetown rebounders, leapt over their backs and dunked home a key basket with awe-inspiring strength. “That rebound dunk was a big play,” Georgetown Head Coach Craig Esherick said. “It got the crowd involved, and it was at a crucial point in the game when we were making a push against them. Clearly he’s Temple’s go-to guy, and he’s their leader.”
Guard Mardy Collins, another third of the Owls’ vaunted backcourt, added 17 points, the game’s second highest total, as he and Hawkins combined for 76.3 percent of Temple’s points.
For Georgetown, Bowman was held below double figures in scoring for the first time in weeks, as he managed only nine in the game. He did round up a game high 12 rebounds, however, many of them keying second chances late in the game. Junior guard D.J. Owens also was thrown off his game by legendary Temple coach John Chaney’s zone defenses, as he was held scoreless for the first time this year.
While Riley had a team-high 15 points, as the team’s leader he was one of the first to sound the team’s frustration. “We just didn’t get it done,” senior Gerald Riley said. “We’re just not getting it done.”
While Georgetown’s recent losing streak may have been unexpected, the team has little time to reflect on recent losses with nationally ranked Syracuse coming to the MCI Center on Saturday. The Hoyas’ biggest traditional rival and the defending national champions, the Orangemen promise to bring a large crowd of supporters and an angry team after their shocking 10-point home loss on Monday against Notre Dame. Tip-off is at 12 p.m.
