Tuesday night’s solid win over St. John’s (7-9, 1-5 Big East) was a critical victory for the Georgetown men’s basketball team (13-5, 5-2 Big East), which is looking more likely to be around come March. As important as moving into third place in the conference is, the 66-57 win over the Johnnies lacked the excitement of what was once the most important rivalry in the Big East. That game took place Sunday when Georgetown played host to Notre Dame.
“I think this game has become a bit of a rivalry,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said, after his team lost 55-54 on a Roy Hibbert dunk with one-tenth of a second remaining.
The back-and-forth contest saw the Hoyas take command over the Irish in the second half, but they proved unable to open up a lead larger than six points. An open three by senior guard Chris Thomas cut the lead to two with 1:16 left to play. Then, with 17 seconds remaining and down two points, Notre Dame took the ball out. An improbable double-clutch three by sophomore guard Colin Falls over first-year guard Jonathan Wallace seemed to give Notre Dame the opportunity to sneak out of the MCI Center with a win. The sequence of events was reminiscent of past unforgettable Georgetown collapses in the final moments, namely Syracuse’s Gerry McNamara’s buzzer-beating shot last year.
As the ball fell through the hoop with 5 seconds remaining, Georgetown fans must have remembered the quadruple-overtime game against Notre Dame three years ago where the Hoyaswasted several chances to win. This time, however, things were different. Cook, instead of calling a timeout, raced up the sideline and found first-year center Hibbert under the hoop.
“It was just wait and see,” Cook said. “I just saw Roy under the basket …We’re just trusting our teammates more and more and letting players make plays.”
The play was a combination of Cook’s pushing the ball upcourt and Hibbert’s improbable full-court run.
“I made eye contact with Ashanti,” Hibbert said. “I can’t even remember, it happened so quick, but I thought it was good; I prayed a lot [as they were reviewing it].”
As if the finish wasn’t exciting enough, pandemonium followed as the student section stormed the court. Following protocol, the officials deliberated around courtside monitors and the basket was finally confirmed, inspiring a second wave of student celebrations. Leading the cheers was an emotional junior forward Brandon Bowman, who had his last-second three pointer ruled a two when his foot was on the line against Syracuse last week, sending the game into overtime instead of giving the Hoyas the win.
“I was thinking of Syracuse when my foot was on the line, so this time I was like ‘He dunked it, his foot can’t be on the line,’” Bowman said.
Cook’s pass was also the second time one of his looks led to a game-winning score for the Hoyas this season. His court-length baseball pass to senior guard Darrell Owens resulted in the free throws that beat Villanova two weeks ago.
“Much like the Villanova game, Ashanti made a heads-up play,” Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III said. “I thought it was a hell of a play. As long as we end up on the right side of [the score], its okay.”
