Georgetown men’s basketball (16-10, 7-8 BIG EAST) bullied the Providence Friars (12-15, 6-10 BIG EAST) to a 93-72 win on Feb. 19 at Capital One Arena. Despite the absence of star freshman forward Thomas Sorber and being down to seven scholarship players, graduate guard Micah Peavy’s 30-point performance led the Hoyas to complete team domination of the Friars.
You may not have expected it based on the final score, but Providence controlled the game in its early stages.
More specifically, Graduate guard Bensley Joseph tore apart the Georgetown defense early to the tune of 12 of the game’s first 23 points as Providence took an early 14-9 advantage. Down to their last two forwards without Sorber and freshman forward Caleb Williams, the Hoyas had their back against the wall early as the Friar lead mounted, and sophomore forward Drew Fielder picked up his second foul less than ten minutes into the game. Without the excellence of graduate guard Micah Peavy, there’s no telling how dark things could’ve gotten for the home team. After Providence took a 20-15 lead, the Hoyas responded in a big way.
Sparked by junior guard Jayden Epps and sophomore guard Malik Mack, and punctuated by a Peavy dunk, the Hoyas went on a 10-0 run to retake control of the game. If it wasn’t clear just how much things had changed in the Hoyas’ favor at this point, redshirt freshman guard Drew McKenna collected his first points since Dec. 28. From there, the teams traded buckets until Georgetown’s lead was down to 29-28 before the Hoyas mounted their second major run of the game, this time 19-3. By halftime, the score was 48-31 Hoyas, punctuated by a buzzer-beating three from sophomore forward Jordan Burks. Peavy not only played his usual brand of disruptive defense but led the game with 19 points. After his hot start, Joseph only scored two more points in the half to lead the Friars with 14.
The second half started much as the first ended. The Hoyas began the half on an 11-3 run, with Peavy hitting his third three of the game, forcing a Providence timeout with the score 59-34. Receiving only his third start all season, Burks was making good on the promise he flashed earlier in the year, becoming the second Hoya to reach double-digit scoring. He was joined soon after by Epps, then Fielder as the Hoyas led 66-46 with just over ten minutes to play. Chants of “Drew McKenna” rang out through the arena after McKenna scored his second field goal, which was only his second career game with two or more makes.
With just over four minutes remaining, Fielder fouled out but received a hero’s farewell as the crowd chanted his name after his stellar outing. He finished with 17 points and nine rebounds for the game. Shortly after the second, Drew (McKenna), in his absence, reached a new career high in points after hitting two free throws, drawing the lead to 81-61. Trying to save face, the Friars were able to hit back-to-back threes to trim the lead to 14, but it didn’t distract from the fact that the Hoyas dominated this evening of basketball. As the final buzzer sounded, the Hoyas came up victorious to the tune of 93-72. Peavy led the game with his first-ever 30-point performance, along with seven rebounds, seven assists, and six steals. Epps chipped in 18 of his own while Burkstallied in13. Joseph led the Friars with 25.
Next, the Hoyas will take to the road to try to complete the season sweep of the Creighton Bluejays (18-8, 11-4 BIG EAST) on Feb 23. at 4:00 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on Peacock. For continued coverage and updates on Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
