Georgetown men’s basketball (15-17, 6-14 BIG EAST) went into the BIG EAST Tournament’s opening-round contest at Madison Square Garden needing to win to continue its season. The Hoyas managed a 63–56 victory against DePaul University (16-16, 8-12 BIG EAST).
This was the third match between the two schools this year. DePaul won the first, 56–50 on Jan. 6th, but Georgetown responded with a 70–61 win on Jan. 28th. Going into this third and final matchup of the season, Georgetown was the No. 11 seed and DePaul was the No. 6 seed. The victor would move forward to play Villanova (24-7, 15-5 BIG EAST) in the quarter-finals.
Georgetown’s starting five was sophomore forward Isaiah Abraham, sophomore forward Caleb Williams, sophomore center Julius Halaifonua, junior guard Malik Mack, and graduate guard Jeremiah Williams. DePaul began with sophomore forward Théo Pierre-Justin, senior forward NJ Benson, freshman guard Kruz McClure, senior guard Brandon Maclin, and junior RJ Smith.
DePaul had most of the first half, as Georgetown had trouble getting its offense going. The Hoyas did not get on the board until Jeremiah Williams made a layup with 17:12 left in the half, and by the 11:02 mark, DePaul was up 15–7 after a CJ Gunn three-pointer. Georgetown’s early stats showed this slow start: Malik Mack was 0-for-5 from the field, Jeremiah Williams 0-for-2, and the Hoyas were only 1-for-6 from beyond the arc while DePaul had the better beginning.
Despite the poor start, Georgetown didn’t let the game get out of reach. Jeremiah Williams and Halaifonua helped calm things down, and the Hoyas reduced the difference possession by possession. Halaifonua dunked with 8:09 remaining to bring the score to 17–11. Jeremiah Williams hit a three at 7:00 to cut the gap to 17–15. Mack’s layup with 3:04 left in the half tied the game at 19–19, and finally, Georgetown caught up.
DePaul still had a slight lead going into halftime at24–21, after a late dunk from sophomore guard Kayvaun Mulready.. After a difficult opening period, Georgetown survived the initial pressure and turned the game into a hard-fought contest.
Georgetown took over the second half. Jeremiah Williams scored inside to make it 24–23 less than a minute into the half, and Mack quickly gave the Hoyas their first advantage at 25–24 with 18:33 remaining. DePaul junior guard Layden Blocker briefly tied it at 27–27, but Georgetown answered yet again, as Halaifonua made a jump shot to put the Hoyas in front 29–27 at 17:24. Mack continued this momentum and increased the lead to 31–28 at 15:53. Senior center Vince Iwuchukwu, off the bench after his exceptional game against Providence in the regular-season finale, gave a large boost in the second half. His free throws made it 33–28 with 14:27 left, and Georgetown’s control of the game became clearer on both offence and defence.
The Hoyas stretched their lead to ten points in the second half but faltered and led just 44–42 with 6:33 left before responding to DePaul’s effort to close the gap.
From there, Georgetown continued to defend its advantage in the last few minutes. With less than six minutes remaining, Mack scored to make it 48–42. By the end, the Hoyas had finished it off 63–56 with a balanced team effort and a significantly better second half than first. Georgetown scored 42 points after the break after only scoring 21 in the first twenty minutes–a big change in a game that first seemed to be heading towards a DePaul win.
Jeremiah Williams and Malik Mack were the best offensive players. Williams ended with 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting, and Mack added 16 points, four assists, and six rebounds in 34 minutes.
Iwuchukwu was possibly the biggest factor in the game, coming off the bench with 17 points and 14 rebounds, and 7-of-8 at the free-throw line. Halaifonua added seven points, four rebounds, and three assists. Georgetown shot 39.3% from the field and only 3-for-14 from three-point range, but the Hoyas made up for it by out-rebounding, 42–30, and going 16-for-18 at the free-throw line. DePaul shot just 34.5% overall, and although the Blue Demons made nine threes, Georgetown success down the stretch proved more important.
In a season which has tested them in several ways, this was a disciplined, strong tournament performance. Georgetown took DePaul’s early run, answered with a steady recovery, and then trusted its key players to see it home.
“We haven’t had the record that we wanted, but we showed a lot of poise coming down the stretch, made our free throws, were able to execute when we needed to execute,” Coach Ed Cooley said in a post-game interview with NBC News. “Our only way into that dance is by winning one game at a time.”
The Hoyas will play the No. 3 Villanova Wildcats tomorrow at 9:30 p.m. EST at Madison Square Garden. The game can be streamed on Fox Sports.
