On Friday, Jan 17, DePaul men’s basketball (10-10, 1-7 BIG EAST) routed Georgetown (12-6, 3-4 BIG EAST) in Capital One Arena, 73-68. On the heels of three consecutive losses, the Hoya men looked for what should have been a simple victory over the DePaul Blue Demons. The Blue Demons, who were 0-7 in conference games before the match, were in last place in the BIG EAST and hadn’t won an away conference game in three years.
They snapped their five-game losing streak tonight against a shallow Georgetown roster. With junior guard Jayden Epps and freshman center Thomas Sorber both out with injury, shot production was notably low in the first half. DePaul had an early ten-point lead, 15-5 by the fourteenth minute, despite a quick two at tip-off from freshman forward Caleb Williams. Unfortunately, there was a nearly five minute scoring drought for the Hoyas when they called a timeout at 12:48.
Only after this break did sophomore guard Malik Mack make it on the board, putting in a two-point field goal. The team gained momentum with around nine minutes left in the half when sophomore center Drew Fielder threaded a bounce pass through to Williams for two. A few moments later, they showed hustle back down the court, poking the ball away and finishing with a fade away jumper from sophomore guard Curtis Williams Jr. DePaul responded by calling a timeout, with Georgetown trailing 21-13.
The shot-making reverted to its lackluster state after that. A DePaul travel with 5:48 in the half gave the Hoyas the ball while they trailed 17-27. Their around-the-horn passes culminated with a shot attempt by sophomore forward Jordan Burks off the rim. A DePaul fast break down with a missed layup had the ball back in Georgetown hands, but that faith was immediately overturned by a step out of bounds.
Energy picked back up with four minutes left. Burks bodied his way to the basket for two–that’s what the students wanted to see more of. Roars of defense erupted while DePaul loitered on the perimeter. Those cries were quieted by a Blue Demon three.
Graduate guard Micah Peavy put in his share of back-breaking labor for the Hoyas. He crashed for a rebound and ended up on the paint. Fielder got two foul shots out of that effort and made both, bringing the Hoyas to ten below DePaul, 22-32.
A pass by Caleb Williams with 1:19 remaining to Fielder in the key yielded a bucket and one. Freshman forward Drew McKenna supplemented this surge with a steal at the one minute mark, feeding Mack the ball for his first three of the game. McKenna followed up with intense defense as DePaul ran down the shot clock at the half, which closed on a 39-28 DePaul lead.
The Hoya men were 10 for 30 from the field during this half and 1-8 from three. DePaul was 4-8 from behind the line, and their leading scorer was sophomore guard Layden Blocker with 14 points. Mack and Fielder both had 7.
Coming back from the half, Mack and Peavy shared a brotherly hug. Their calmness turned into intensity once the first whistle blew. Mack dove on a loose ball and took it to the ground with him: his effort rewarded the Hoyas with a bucket from Fielder.
For around the first eight minutes of the second half, the scoring pattern mimicked that of the first. With 12:06 left, Mack lofted the ball to Burks on the interior for a rousing alley-oop. The crowd revived, Pope Francis’s fathead proudly bobbing above their heads. The Blue Demons brought them back to reality by a second-chance alley-oop of their own.
Mack, who finished the night with six assists to his name, can attribute one of those to the three-pointer Fielder sunk following a break. The defense flew around DePaul tirelessly on their ensuing possession and induced a shot-clock violation. Williams’ jumper, off a Mack assist, filled the arena with hope once more. He called for us to rally with the team, motioning for the crowd to get loud. The rowdiness died back down after Fielder, Williams, and Burks all attempted and missed three-pointers. With 8:44 left in the game, the score was 55-48.
Fielder took some of the initiative to get dirty under the basket that Peavy and Mack seemed to ignore tonight. He drew a foul with 7:49 left for putting up a shot, making one of two. He tried again for a put up with 6:28 left. On the next Hoya possession, Mack tossed a gem up to Burks, who missed the put-down. Georgetown was only down 8, 51-59.
After a Mack layup settled the score at 62-55 DePaul, the referees outraged Capital One by assigning a technical to Fielder. After turning from the basket, Fielder knocked into the shoulder of DePaul junior guard Conor Enright, who winced in pain with dramatic flair. Thankfully, the Blue Demon would have a speedy recovery, returning to the court and promptly turning the ball over on the next possession.
With 3:25 left to play, Williams turned up the defense. His block and defensive rebound gave Mack the ball once more. He swung it to Peavy, who passed to Curtis for an improbable reverse layup to bring the Hoyas back within four points. The stands shook when the refs called Georgetown possession, with a score of 60-64. Mack’s near-immediate double dribble seemed to throw away the blessing from the refs, but his three at 2:10 brought it right back, to 63-65.
Following a DePaul timeout, Mack brought the ball down the court. Fielder, dancing around the key, called for the ball emphatically, but he didn’t get the pass. Mack’s attempt as the shot clock wound down wasn’t good, but a lucky rebound allowed for a Georgetown timeout.
With twenty seconds remaining, DePaul maintained a marginal lead, 68-65, even after goaltending one of Peavy’s shots. They would, however, hold onto the lead. A quick succession of fouls brought the Blue Demons’ total to 73, and not even Williams Jr’s last three could create a recovery. As the last buzzer sounded, the Georgetown Hoyas were possessed by the DePaul Blue Demons, losing 68-73.
Despite the loss, both Mack and Fielder finished with 19 points, especially notable for the sophomore center as he averages 7.1 points per game this season. Junior guard CJ Gunn led the Blue Demons with 17 points. Overall, the Hoyas shot 41.5 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from three, both below average for Cooley’s squad.
Georgetown now faces a tough road schedule: taking on the red hot Villanova Wildcats (12-7, 5-3 BIG EAST), then heading to the despised Providence Friars’ (9-10, 3-5 BIG EAST) dilapidated gym in another homecoming for Ed Cooley. The Hoyas need to get healthy, fast, and should improve their shot creation when their two best players are not on the floor. This loss stings, and leaves a lot of soul-searching for the once ascending program.
Georgetown men’s basketball will travel to the Villanova Wildcats on Jan. 20 at 6:00 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on FS1. For continued coverage and updates on Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.