The Georgetown men’s basketball team (15-10, 5-7 Big East) came out flat against Seton Hall (15-9, 6-6 Big East) and lost 90-75 on Wednesday night. Senior center Jessie Govan led the Hoyas with 20 points, and senior guard Greg Malinowski contributed 16 off the bench. For the Pirates, junior guard Myles Powell led all scorers with 30 points, and three other Pirates managed double figures in the blowout victory.
The teams traded buckets to open the game, and a Govan dunk made the score 7-6 with 17:08 to play in the first half. From there, Seton Hall took over the game, going on a 17-2 scoring run and getting a lead they wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the game. Georgetown head coach Patrick Ewing turned to his bench to try and stop the run, and junior guard Jagan Mosely’s assertive dunk on a three-point play brought the Hoyas within 11. Despite a 7-0 run late in the first half, the Pirates led by 13 at the break.
In the second half, it was more of the same, as Seton Hall continued to respond every time Georgetown converted a basket. At 15:59, Powell’s layup gave Seton Hall a 21-point lead, but Georgetown went on a 7-0 run behind a layup from Malinowski, a three-point play from senior guard/forward Kaleb Johnson, and a layup from freshman forward Josh LeBlanc. Freshman forward Myles Cale stopped the run for the Pirates, but Malinowski got hot, connecting on consecutive triples to draw the Hoyas within 13, prompting a Seton Hall timeout.
Every time the Hoyas had a run, Seton Hall quickly answered with a 3-pointer, and this time was no different with Powell hitting another shot from deep. After a layup from LeBlanc and a triple from sophomore forward Jamorko Pickett, the Hoyas trailed by 11, but Seton Hall closed the game on a 9-4 run, making the final score 90-75.
The final result was especially disheartening for the three starting freshmen. Freshman guard Mac McClung found himself in foul trouble early, recording just 3 points in 16 minutes of play. Freshman guard James Akinjo didn’t fare much better, shooting 1-of-6 from the field and scoring only 6 points. As a group, the freshmen shot 5-of-17 from the field and combined for a measly 15 points. Rebounding and 3-point shooting were also major issues for the Hoyas. Georgetown was destroyed on the offensive boards by senior forward Michael Nzei, who pulled down eight offensive rebounds by himself, leading to many second-chance points for the Pirates. Georgetown shot 29.2 percent from deep, while Seton Hall shot 44.0 percent.
The Hoyas return to action at home against the Villanova Wildcats (20-5, 11-1 Big East) next Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena. Follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter for live updates and coverage of all winter sports at Georgetown.
