Confronted by one of the more hostile environments in recent college basketball memory, the Georgetown University Hoyas were down 2 with just under two minutes left in the game.
The Providence Friars’ fanbase looked on nervously, surprisingly contained as senior guard Jay Heath dribbled up the court. But much to Hoya fans’ dismay, Heath’s errant dribbling led to a turnover that found its way straight into the hands of Friars star guard Devin Carter.
Amica Mutual Pavillion erupted as Carter bolted up the court, drawing a flagrant foul in addition to converting on his layup attempt. The next time the Hoyas got the ball, their 2-point deficit had been stretched to 8.
The Hoyas never recovered from this cataclysmic sequence, eventually falling 84-76.
Georgetown (8-12, 1-8 Big East) came into the Jan. 27 contest as heavy underdogs to Providence (14-6, 5-4 Big East). Generally, a game between the No. 10 and No. 5 teams in the Big East conference on a sleepy Saturday morning would not be of great importance, but this was far from your average game.
The occasion marked first-year Georgetown head coach Ed Cooley’s return to his hometown of Providence, where he coached for 12 years before leaving for Washington, D.C. last March. The Providence fan base was eager to heckle Cooley, despite his critical role in turning around the Friars’ program.
Cooley walked onto the court to a chorus of boos. Early in the game, the Providence student section spewed several expletive-laden chants aimed at their former coach. Yet the Hoyas hung tough in the hostile gym, and Georgetown found themselves up by two after 11 minutes of play thanks to a 3-pointer from junior guard Dontrez Styles.
From there, the Friars went on a run, taking an 8-point lead. Nevertheless, the Hoyas continued to chip away for the remainder of the half, entering the break down just 4 points.
Though the Hoyas remained close after the first period, they committed too many fouls as a team, offering Providence free points from the charity stripe. This also limited the availability of several key players.
Styles entered the half having already committed three personal fouls, and senior center Supreme Cook added two of his own. The Hoyas’ lack of frontcourt depth meant they could not afford to have either of those players foul out. As a result, Cooley was forced to rely on inexperienced players for several crucial stretches in both halves.
The Friars came out rolling to start the second half, building their lead to 12 points with 12 minutes remaining in the game, but the Hoyas roared back behind graduate forward Ismael Massoud and Heath. And just as the game was getting tight, sophomore guard Jayden Epps got hot from deep — after beginning the game 0-for-9 from beyond the 3-point arc — and the Hoyas not only tied the game but even took a 3-point lead, 69-66 with 2:57 left in regulation.
This offensive spark silenced Amica Mutual Pavillion.
Unfortunately for Georgetown, Providence’s Carter rose to the occasion and single-handedly led the Friars to the win.
Carter finished with a game-high 29 points, including 11 in the last two minutes of the game. He hit a huge, deep 3-pointer to regain the lead with 1:57 left, and the Friars never looked back.
With the game all but decided, Georgetown turned the ball over to Carter once again, who finished off the Hoyas with a spectacular windmill dunk.
After the game, Cooley said he was proud of the team’s effort throughout the tough matchup.
“I was really proud of how our team competed and responded,” Cooley told Fox Sports’ John Fanta. “We didn’t play well in our last outing. Hopefully, this is something we can build off of.”
Despite an inefficient night, the Big East’s leading scorer, Epps, still led the way for the Hoyas with 26 points — albeit on 9-27 shooting — while playing all 40 minutes of the contest. Massoud had his best game as a Hoya, putting up 16 points on 50% shooting and leading the team with 7 rebounds. Cook was the only other Hoya to reach double figures with 15 points, but he fouled out with 1:30 left in the contest. Overall, nine different players saw minutes in the game.
In his postgame presser, Cooley once again guaranteed future success for the Hoyas.
“Mark my words: eventually, we’re going to prove everybody wrong,” Cooley said. “We’re not there yet. We’re just beginning to build this thing. But we’re going to do it.”
Even some Providence fans concur, according to Georgetown students Charlie Phillips (MSB ’25), Will Phillips (CAS ’25), Blair Shaw (CAS ’25) and Tom Kisielius (MSB ’25), all of whom traveled to Providence for the game.
“An old guy said to us, ‘You guys are a sleeping giant. Cooley will bring you back,’” Charlie Phillips told The Hoya.
The Hoyas next play against the No. 9 Marquette Golden Eagles (15-5, 6-3 Big East) at home in Capital One Arena on Feb. 3.
