Georgetown men’s basketball (9-2, 1-0 BIG EAST) annihilated BIG EAST rival Creghton (7-5, 0-1 BIG EAST), 81-57 at Capital One Arena on Dec. 18. While the absence of starting sophomore guard Malik Mack threatened to spoil the Hoyas’ evening, fantastic efforts by graduate guard Micah Peavy, junior guard Jayden Epps, and sophomore guard Curtis Williams Jr. buoyed the Hoyas’ attack.
The game started back and forth, with the teams playing to an early draw. Neither team was able to gain meaningful separation in the first nine minutes of play. Epps and Hoya freshman forward Thomas Sorber, as well as Creighton graduate guard Steven Ashworth got going early for their respective teams as both squads made their shots early. After struggling from deep against Syracuse, the Hoyas started the game 3-for-6 from three, and it would only get better from there. With ten minutes to play, Williams Jr. hit his first triple as a Hoya to get Georgetown some early separation, 21-16.
Also of note—to this point Creighton superstar big man senior Ryan Kalkbrenner was held, by Sorber, to just three points and zero (0!) rebounds.
After both teams came out of the gate scorching, the defenses began to settle down. A lower scoring game was expected with no Mack for the Hoyas and junior guard Pop Isaacs being absent for the Bluejays.
Creighton showed life coming out of the under-8 media timeout, though, as Ashworth sparked a short Creighton burst to pull closer. The Hoyas led 25-23 with just under four minutes remaining in the period. But in what perhaps was a sign of things to come for the Jays, during the under-4 media timeout, Ashworth signaled to the Creighton bench to bring out a trash can for him to vomit in. Coming out the timeout Creighton would, for the last time, regain a two point lead 28-26 after trailing for most of the half. Led by Williams Jr., though, the Hoyas responded with a counterpunch of their own. A Williams Jr. three-pointer regained the Hoyas the lead, then sophomore forward Jordan Burks hit one of his own as Georgetown used a 9-0 surge to take a 34-28 lead into halftime.
The second half was not nearly as close as the first.
After the squads exchanged baskets and the Hoyas led 41-35, a triple by sophomore forward Drew Fielder—the Hoyas now 7-for-11 from distance—gave the Hoyas the momentum they needed to take over the game. In particular, Micah Peavy dazzled this half with his defensive dominance, with multiple steals turning into runout dunks. Peavy would finish the game with 20 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and 7 steals, in one of the best Hoya two-way performances in recent memory. Epps also continued to hit his shots (he finished the day 5-for-6 from three) and the Hoya lead quickly ballooned to 49-35…then 59-41…then 64-43 by the under-8 media timeout. The game was all but over, and the last eight minutes of this game were a celebration for Hoya players and fans alike, and the final buzzer sounded at a final score of 81-57. Ashworth and Epps led the game with 21 points apiece; Williams chipped in his best as a Hoya with 12 points as well. The Hoyas finished 10-16 from three for the game, and won the rebounding battle 39-25.
Against Syracuse, the Hoyas overcame a massive free throw attempt disparity and poor shooting from deep to win on the road. Today, the Hoyas were without their starting point guard and gave up 12 threes, yet they dominated one of their BIG EAST peers. For many, including this writer, this is the most impressive stretch by the Hoyas in quite a while. It’s taken perfect performances for the Hoyas to even be competitive in these types of games over the past three years. This year’s team has proven to be a lot more than just competitive, despite the odds being consistently stacked against them with injuries and inexperience. It’s a welcome sight to say the least.
Also, hats off to Epps for reaching his thousandth career point!
Next, the Hoyas will look to stay undefeated in BIG EAST play, heading to the Prudential Center on Sunday, Dec. 22 to take on the Seton Hall Pirates (5-7, 0-1 BIG EAST) at 7:00 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on FS1. For continued coverage and updates on Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
