Most of Georgetown’s student body has checked out and gone home for Thanksgiving break. In the first half, the Hoyas offense seemed checked out as well.
Winning the ball at the top, the Hoyas immediately met a swarming Wagner defense that would pester them for the entire first half, with a focus on forcing Georgetown’s starting backcourt (sophomore Malik Mack and junior Jayden Epps) into turnovers and tough shots. Early on, it worked like a charm. Neither Mack nor Epps looked comfortable, with Epps stuck taking a deep three at the end of the shot clock with two defenders in his face, resulting in an airball. Mack wasn’t much more comfortable, with one of his early drives ending in a layup attempt that missed everything but the backboard.
Luckily, the Hoyas could fall back on their two other stars, freshman center Thomas Sorber and graduate forward Micah Peavy, to steady the ship. Sorber made some early passing plays that belied his height and position, including a John Stockton-esque full-court pass within the opening minutes. Wagner forced Peavy into the creator role as Mack and Epps got swarmed, resulting in many a possession with Peavy working against the defense at the top of the key while the two guards stood in their respective corners. On the defensive side, Sorber’s blocking ability combined with a surprisingly stingy Hoyas perimeter defense kept Georgetown in the game early as the offense looked lifeless. Five minutes in, the score held at 7-6 Georgetown.
As Sorber sat for a blow, he was replaced by Julius Halifanoua, who attempted to emulate Sorber’s imposing presence on the defensive end. He found success to an extent, although that might have also been due to the fact that Wagner’s shot-making was severely below par—unsurprising for a team that entered as a bottom five offense in the country. Julius took a scary slip and fall after going up for a rebound, as if someone had pulled the rug out from under him, but popped right back up and continued to sustain that imposing interior presence Georgetown will need for conference play as the calendars flip towards the new year.
The rest of the first half was similarly ugly, with Georgetown and Wagner relying on near-circus shots to get their buckets. First came a Malik Mack four-point play, which gave the Hoyas a 14-12 lead. However, Wagner came down and nailed a banked-in three of their own off another weak offensive possession to regain the lead. Georgetown responded when Thomas Sorber let it fly from the top of the key, banking in a three of his own and giving the Hoyas a lead they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the night. At 17-15 by the under-8 timeout, Georgetown continued with their stifling defense as they forced a shot clock violation on the first possession out of a timeout.
After holding Georgetown to a sub-30 shooting percentage, Wagner made the mind-boggling decision to switch to a zone defense for a couple plays, and the Hoyas pounced. Mack was fouled on a 3, and then more stingy defense led to a tip steal by Peavy, who threw the ball ahead to Jordan Burks for an easy dunk. A Peavy three and Mack splitting a double team to get downhill gave the Hoyas a 28-20 lead as they entered the break.
Through the first half, it looked like the Hoyas were suffering an identity crisis. Epps dribbled too much as he looked for an angle, resulting in multiple smothered shots, and early on Mack did not attack the rim with regularity. In general, every offensive possession felt like a grind reminiscent of the early 2000s NBA. But whatever Coach Cooley said at halftime, Georgetown came out firing.
With an emphasis on higher tempo and pushing in transition, the Hoyas smothered Wagner in the second half. In the half court, Sorber turned into a facilitator at the top of the key, finding Peavy with a nice entry pass for an easy finish early in the second half. A couple possessions later, a deep Peavy three forced Wagner to call a timeout as they fell behind by 15. The timeout did nothing to calm Wagner down on offense, as the Hoyas forced poor shots and turnovers while converting easy buckets on the other end—resulting in an 18-0 run to start the second half as the Hoyas went up 46-20. A Sorber dunk and then another Burks transition dunk off a turnover built a 30-point lead, and at that point Georgetown began to take its foot off the gas. Mack checked out with about eight minutes left, finishing with 16 points on 4-10 shooting and 6-8 from the free throw line. The rest of Georgetown’s starters stayed in for a couple more minutes, with Sorber providing another highlight with a no-look pass to Jordan Burks under the basket which resulted in a foul. The final major highlight of the night was another forced turnover and a Peavy lob to Jordan Burks to send the McDonough crowd home happy for the holiday. A 66-41 victory belied the struggle in the first half, but Georgetown’s intensity provided the most exciting half of basketball they have played all season when they pulled away in the second.
With such an excellent defensive performance, Georgetown is now top-25 nationally in free throw rate allowed (4th nationally), turnover percentage (22nd), and two-point defense (13th). This game, a tale of two halves, should be a performance to build upon, one that should prove to the players that keeping their defensive identity for 40 minutes will eventually cause the opposing team to break and allow the Hoyas to run in transition and get easy buckets.
The Hoyas play next on Saturday, Nov. 30, taking on the Albany Great Danes (5-2, AE) at 4:00 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on FS2. For continued coverage and updates on Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
