Despite another stellar performance from graduate guard Micah Peavy, the Georgetown University men’s basketball team (16-12, 7-10 Big East) fell to the University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies (19-9, 11-6 Big East) for the second time this season, dropping a 93-79 decision in Hartford, Conn., on Feb. 26.
Georgetown played a new-look starting lineup for the third consecutive game, with sophomore forward Jordan Burks starting to fill in for injured star first-year center Thomas Sorber. Sorber underwent surgery on his left foot earlier in the day, ending his breakout season prematurely after an injury during Georgetown’s loss to Butler Feb. 15. First-year forward Caleb Williams missed his third straight game due to concussion protocol, while junior guard Jayden Epps appeared to be out of the woods from his lingering lower-body injury, starting his third straight game.
The Hoyas flew away to an early lead, securing the first basket of the game. A jumper in the paint from sophomore forward Drew Fielder fell into the basket 25 seconds in, and the Huskies quickly responded, setting up center Samson Johnson for the dunk. A turnover apiece on the Hoyas’ and Huskies’ ends saw Epps swipe in for the steal before rattling it off to Peavy for a fastbreak 3-pointer to put the Hoyas up 5-2. A jumper from UConn brought the score up to 5-4, before Georgetown stole away to a commanding 14-4 lead with three consecutive 3-point shots from Peavy, Burks and Epps to tally four 3-pointers in four minutes for the team.
UConn responded with an 8-point run of their own in two minutes, bringing the game within a possession and a score of 14-12 to Georgetown. The Hoyas found their groove again responding with a Peavy layup, bringing the game out of single-possession range 16-12. UConn kept up their persistence, but the Hoyas held the upper hand in the game until to six minutes remaining in the half. Georgetown held a 6-point lead over UConn three separate times, with multiple 4- and 5-point leads in between.
That all changed, however, when with six minutes remaining in the first half, UConn secured the ball off a missed Peavy 3-point attempt and tipped the ball in off a missed layup to put them up for the first time in the game 30-29. The Hoyas never managed to gain back their lead.
Georgetown trailed UConn for the final 26 minutes of the game, coming within a single possession seven separate times. At the end of the first half, the Hoyas were down 7 with a score of 42-35 to the Huskies. Georgetown attempted to find their feet once again, coming within 3 points of UConn less than a minute into the second half, and again 1:30 in, 4:00 in, 4:30 in and 6:00 in for the final time. The Huskies took advantage of Hoya turnovers and fouls to secure a commanding 13-point lead with less than nine minutes left to play. Georgetown’s attempts to regain position all fell through, and UConn soared ahead to a 19-point lead with two minutes left to play, putting the Huskies up 93-74. Hoya sophomore guard Curtis Williams Jr. put up a 3-point shot and Peavy sunk a dunk to end the game 93-79, but it was not nearly enough to overcome the Huskies’ dominant performance.
Like many games as of late, Peavy was once again the star. He registered more than 20 points for the sixth straight game, tallying an impressive 25 points and 3 assists. Sophomore guard Malik Mack shined as well, tallying 6 assists and 4 rebounds to go along with 9 points. On the not-so-good end for Georgetown, Fielder allowed himself to get frustrated by UConn’s style of play, fouling out in the second half. Despite the loss, Georgetown shot the ball well, shooting 51.8% from field goal range and 40.7% from the arc. However, the strong shooting performance was bested by a talented UConn team, who shot 55.9% from the floor and 37.5% from 3-point range. The Huskies were led by guard Solo Ball and center Tarris Reed Jr., who each registered 20 points.
Head Coach Ed Cooley said that despite the loss, he was proud of how the Hoyas played, persevering through the challenges of a depleted roster.
“Overall I’m very proud of our men, really, really proud of how hard we played with just being so limited right now in our roster,” Cooley told Georgetown Athletics. “We will prepare for a very aggressive, hungry Marquette team.”
The Hoyas will look to get back in the win column when they return to Capital One Arena to face off against the No. 21 ranked Marquette University Golden Eagles (21-7, 12-5 Big East) at 8 p.m. March 1 on Peacock.
