The Georgetown Men’s Basketball Team (6-0) put the cupcakes aside on Wednesday night, traveling to Birmingham to take on the Crimson Tide of Alabama (4-3) in the Pizza Hut Big East/SEC Invitational. The Hoyas were uncomfortable at times against an equally athletic opponent, but by the time the final buzzer sounded, the Tide had gone the way of Georgetown’s lesser early-season opponents to the tune of a 70-60 Hoya victory.
Senior center Roy Hibbert was the focal point of the Hoya offense in the early-going, and the Preseason Big East Player of the Year took advantage in his first nationally televised game of the season. The Hoyas had struggled to get the ball in the big man’s hands throughout the season, as he is the main concern of opposing defenses.
Senior guard Jonathan Wallace—a native of Alabama—and his backcourt partner, junior Jessie Sapp, attacked the Alabama defense early to keep the Tide from settling into a Hibbert-hampering zone. The quick possessions were effective at first—Hibbert converted two early field goals and made seven trips to the free-throw line—but the uncharacteristically frenetic pace led to nine early Hoya turnovers (they average only 10 a game) and transition points for Alabama. The Tide scored six of their first 10 points off of these turnovers, putting Georgetown in an early hole.
Midway through the half, the Hoyas slowed the offensive pace, settling into their normal, deliberate half court sets. But the slower tempo meant less touches for Hibbert, as Alabama switched to a zone defense. The seven-footer scored nine points in the half off of only two field goals, with the rest coming from the free-throw line. Most of Georgetown’s early offensive success came when Hibbert cleared out of the paint, opening up the baseline for sophomore forward DaJuan Summers (6-11, 18 points) and senior forward Patrick Ewing Jr. (2-4, 5 points).
On the defensive end, Georgetown’s man-to-man set was picked apart by the penetration of the Alabama backcourt. The Hoyas switched to zone midway through the half and forced the Tide to settle for perimeter shooting. Alabama threw up 14 first half 3s, converting only four (28.6 percent).
Despite shooting woes, Alabama collected seven offensive rebounds in the first half to Georgetown’s two, and attempted 10 more shots. Tide junior forward Richard Hendrix led all scorers in the first half with 11 of his 17 points.
The fast-paced first half featured 11 different lead changes, but the Tide took the 35-32 advantage into the locker room.
Wallace (3-9, 11 points) and Sapp (4-12, 12 points) took the ball right to the Crimson Tide defense early in the second, sinking two early buckets to give the Hoyas back the lead. But the quick opening drives were the exceptions in a much slower-paced second half.
Despite controlling the tempo, frequent close-range misses and another woeful performance from the free-throw line (13-23, 58 percent) prevented the Hoyas from extending the lead.
Hibbert had a quiet half, scoring only five more points (14 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks), but Summers once again picked up the offensive slack for the Blue and Gray, scoring a game-high 18 points.
The Crimson Tide had their own offensive woes in the second half, shooting an equally abysmal 53 percent from the charity stripe, but junior forward Mykal Riley’s four 3s kept them in the game.
One of Riley’s three-pointers gave Alabama a 57-56 lead with under four minutes left in the game. The Hoyas needed an answer and got it from the increasingly reliable Summers, who drilled a three-pointer of his own to spark a 14-3 run that ultimately put the game out of reach.
