They’re not done yet. With their NCAA Tournament hopes hanging in the balance, the Georgetown men’s basketball team (17-12, 8-9 Big East) ran past the No. 13 Creighton Bluejays (23-6, 13-4 Big East) on Tuesday night, winning a key, late-season conference matchup 75-63.
The Hoyas were led by yet another strong performance from their backcourt, which continues to carry the scoring load. Senior Markel Starks scored 17 points to go along with 11 assists and three steals, while fellow guard sophomore D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera recorded 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Tuesday night, however, the Hoyas also got a much-needed lift from the frontcourt, whose play has been noticeably inconsistent over the past month. Off the bench, Aaron Bowen scored nine points to go along with four rebounds, while Mikael Hopkins played one of his best games to date, scoring ten points to go along with five rebounds and five blocks.
For Creighton, star senior forward Doug McDermott led all scorers with 22 points, just a shade under his scoring average of 25.9 points per game, the top average in the country. McDermott was visibly bothered by the physical defense of Aaron Bowen and Mikael Hopkins, shooting an inefficient nine for 23 from the field and four for 11 from three-point range.
“Yes, they are two great defenders, got to give them both a lot of credit,” McDermott said. “You know, Hopkins is one of the more physical defenders I’ve ever faced. … We got off to a slow start, and my shot just wasn’t falling. … They are great defenders.”
Another bright spot for the Hoyas was junior guard Jabril Trawick, who continued his streak of strong performances on Tuesday night, accumulating 15 points and seven rebounds in a season-high 38 minutes played. Since returning from a broken jaw on Jan. 27, Trawick has scored in double figures in seven out of ten games, notching at least 12 points in the Hoyas’ last six contests.
“Jabril [Trawick] makes a huge difference compared to the first time we played [Georgetown],” said Creighton Head Coach Greg McDermott. “He brings a lot of energy, and when he’s knocking down a couple perimeter shots like he did tonight to go with his ability to be physical in the lane, it’s a pretty good combination.”
The victory came on Senior Night for the Hoyas, who honored graduating players Markel Starks, Nate Lubick, Aaron Bowen, Moses Ayegba, and John Caprio before tip-off. All five players are four-year members of the Georgetown basketball program, a rarity for a program with a proclivity for fostering NBA talent before graduation.
For Thompson, the loss of Starks, in particular, next season is a reality that is difficult to face.
“To tell you the truth, I don’t want to think about it,” admitted Thompson. “[These seniors are] a group, [Markel] is a player, that we’re going to miss. I said on television after the game, this is the last home game, but we plan on him playing a few more games in a Georgetown uniform, before everything is said and done.”
For Starks, his journey to the Hilltop has been fruitful, but not without its difficulties.
“I’ll be the first one to tell you that schoolwork hasn’t always been my best suit,” said Starks. “I’ve had to work …You’ve heard [Thompson] say it a number of times and you’ve watched me grow up and I’m a worker. I bring my lunch pail every day and like I said, just to be at this point and finally get here.
“I went through some tough times here just from a mental standpoint and that’s just a part of maturity. That’s just part of becoming a man. Everything isn’t always going to go your way. A lot of guys go through situations where they come in and play right away, and they don’t always work. I went through some ups and downs and that’s only made me stronger. That’s only made me persevere and adversity is good.”
Next up for the Hoyas is their final regular season game on the road versus No. 6 Villanova (26-3, 14-2). The Wildcats have only lost three times all season, once to Syracuse and twice to Creighton, and would clinch the Big East regular season title with a win over Xavier on Thursday. In Georgetown and Villanova’s last meeting, the Wildcats edged the Hoyas 65-60 in an ugly, turnover-filled contest. A win for the Hoyas in Philadelphia would likely put them on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble entering the Big East Tournament.
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