Georgetown men’s basketball (16-11, 7-9 BIG EAST) lost by double digits to the Creighton Bluejays (19-8, 12-4 BIG EAST) 80-69 on Feb. 23. While graduate guard Micah Peavy was stellar in the first half, neither he nor the rest of the Hoyas were able to keep pace in the second.
After a hot shooting night sprung the Hoyas in their previous game, hitting fifteen threes, Georgetown looked to continue that momentum early in this game as well, with Peavy and sophomore guard Malik Mack getting on the board early as Georgetown built a 14-9 lead into the first media timeout behind 9 points from Peavy. Peavy stayed hot for a while too, as he had another jumper and a steal and score to extend the lead to 7 points before the Bluejays hit some jumpers of their own to get the lead down to 20-19 midway through the first half. It wasn’t enough to slow the red-hot Peavy just yet, though, as he missed only one shot en route to 18 points before the under-8 timeout and Georgetown brought their advantage back to nine. Unfortunately for the Hoya faithful, that was about where the good times ended.
It’s hard to beat a good team twice, and after the 81-57 rout that Georgetown put on the Jays’ earlier in the season, it’s easy to imagine why after going down 38-29, Creighton felt motivated to respond. Led by senior guard Stephen Ashworth, and senior guard/wing Jamiya Neal, the Bluejays stormed back into the game, using a 15-4 run over the half’s final five minutes to regain the lead heading into the locker room. Despite making eight triples in the first half, the Hoyas found themselves down 44-42, even though Creighton senior superstar Ryan Kalkbrenner had yet to truly impose himself on the game, something that was only a matter of time as the Hoyas were without their star freshman forward Thomas Sorber. At this point Peavy was once again the star, leading the game with 18 points, and Ashworth led the ‘Jays with 15 of his own.
Coming out of half, the inspired play of the home team continued. After that 15-4 run to close half one, Creighton mounted a 16-4 run out of halftime to build their lead to 60-46. Where before it was Ashworth, now it was Kalkbrenner reminding the crowd why he is the reigning 3-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, and Player of the Year front runner, dominating the paint on both ends. A three point jumper by junior guard Jayden Epps got the Hoyas back some momentum, but with Peavy missing ten straight shots, Epps and Mack were forced to carry the full offensive burden for a Georgetown team that is very hampered with injuries. Moments later, down 64-46, the Hoyas needed momentum, and they needed some badly, prompting coach Ed Cooley to shift the Hoyas to a zone defense. Georgetown’s zone gave Creighton fits on offense, leading to some easy points for Georgetown on the other end. A 8-0 Hoya burst reduced the deficit to five with over eight minutes to play, but the Georgetown zone all but collapsed when the Creighton role players were able to hit shots from the perimeter, as eight straight points by Creighton sophomore Isaac Traudt, gave the ‘Jays a commanding 77-61 lead. Despite the Hoyas’ stellar 12 made threes on the night, there was just little they could do as Kalkbrenner, Neal and Ashworth got almost anything they wanted offensively, with the role players around them making just enough shots to support their stars.
From there on, it was mostly academic. On a few occasions the Hoyas got the lead to or close to single digits, but they were never really able to give Creighton a scare from then on. You can fight hard like the Hoyas did, but beating Creighton on the road is a tall tall task, just ask the BIG EAST leading St. John’s—or ask Kansas, or Purdue, or Maruqette—you get the point. Tonight, the ‘Jays lived up to their billing as a formidable team to play on the road. As the final buzzer sounded, the Hoyas had lost 80-69. Epps ended up leading the game in points with 22, Peavy also had 20 for the Hoyas and Mack 15. For Creighton, stuffed statlines all around as Kalkbrenner finished with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks, Ashworth with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists, sophomore Jasen Green with 14 points, and perhaps most impressively, Neal with 13 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists, a near triple-double. Next, the Hoyas stay on the road and try to upend the two-time defending national champion UConn Huskies (18-9, 12-6 BIG EAST) on Feb 26. at 6:30 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on FS1. For continued coverage and updates on Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
