On Nov. 16, Georgetown men’s basketball (2–1, BIG EAST) could’ve built a village with all the bricks they laid on the rim as they lost in blowout fashion to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3–0, ACC), 84–63, in a game coach Ed Cooley’s squad will want to forget in short order.
The game started out back and forth as both teams played through their frontcourt on offense, with all four starters getting in the scoring column in the games opening minutes. Whatever illness kept freshman forward Thomas Sorber out of the lineup to start the game did not last long, as the freshman big entered the game early as the first sub off the bench. From that point Sorber continued to do what he has done through his first two games, getting to the line twice by the under-16 timeout by imposing his will in the post.
It wasn’t just Sorber dominating the paint for the Hoyas early, as Georgetown went into the media timeout with 6 offensive rebounds to Notre Dame’s 3 defensive rebounds.
Notre Dame surged out of the break though, making three pointer after three pointer and opening up a sizable lead as Georgetown’s early game woes reared their ugly head again for a third straight game to open the year. Georgetown went into the under-12 timeout on a dry-spell to the tune of 13 straight missed shots as Notre Dame amassed a 19-7 lead.
Yet, the Hoyas responded with a renewed enthusiasm after the timeout. A three by sophomore guard Malik Mack, another by junior Jayden Epps, and a Sorber dunk had the Hoyas off and running with the gap closed to 21-15 by the under-8 media timeout. Despite the Hoyas dreadful start from the field, 11 early offensive boards kept the Hoyas rally alive as Mack continued to go to work getting the Hoyas as close as 26-22 after his second made triple of the game.
Notre Dame graduate guard Matt Allocco continued to play the hero though, as he geared Notre Dame up for a major 8-0 counter punch to draw the Fighting Irish lead back to double digits as the under-4 timeout sounded. To this point Allocco had 15 points on 5-5 from the field and 4-4 from three. Notre Dame star sophomore point guard Markus Burton, however, had been largely kept in check, with no made field goals through 16 minutes.
With just 2:58 left in the half, Georgetown graduate wing Micah Peavy picked up his third foul of the game on a charge. The Notre Dame lead continued to balloon, as the Irish sank a few more triples and forced an Ed Cooley timeout with 1:58 left in the half and the Hoyas down 42-25.
Try as Sorber might, Georgetown could not respond with a run of their own and went into halftime down 44-29, despite his final seven Hoya points of the half. Sorber entered the break with 12 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, Allocco led the half with 15 points of his own. Through 20 minutes, Notre Dame shot 65% from the field and made 7-12 threes whereas Georgetown shot only 26% from the field and 3-18 from three. The Hoyas still had a glimmer of hope though, as they still were dominating the opposing glass with 15 offensive rebounds.
To the Hoyas credit, they showed fight early in the half, with Epps himself draining two threes and a floater, but the Georgetown defense still struggled to contain the Fighting Irish offense as the score increased to 56-42 entering the first media timeout. From there, the game devolved into a lot of sloppy play from both sides as the teams only combined to score three points before the next media timeout, the score, 58-43 Notre Dame.
Georgetown’s nightmarish day shooting the ball did not end there. Now halfway through the second half the Hoyas were still shooting sub-30% from the field and continued to settle for threes that just weren’t falling. Through thirty minutes of game Georgetown had now missed a staggering 22 treys and made only 5. By the penultimate media timeout this game was all but over. The Hoyas showed little to no fight on either end and Notre Dame continued to execute their offense at a high level, growing their lead to its largest yet at 69-45.
With the game thoroughly out of the reach, and Capital One Arena drained of all energy, the Hoyas were finally able to find their stride shooting the ball. Despite that though, due to the sheer volume of missed Hoya shots, Notre Dame had now taken a 40-31 advantage in the rebounding category despite 18 Georgetown offensive rebounds. As the final buzzer mercifully sounded, Georgetown had lost a game, in blowout fashion, in which they took nearly 20 more shots than their opponent. Final score, 84-63 Notre Dame.
Mack would end up leading the Hoyas with 16 points, Allocco led the game with 17. Georgetown finished 22-70 (31 percent) from the field and 8-32 from three, whereas Notre Dame finished 32-54 (59 percent) from the field and 9-21 (43 percent) from three.
The Hoyas will stay at home and look for redemption on Wednesday, Nov. 20, when they open up the Hoya MTE and take on the Mount Saint Mary’s Mountaineers (2-1, MAAC) at 8:30 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on FS1. For continued coverage and updates on Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
