MEN’S BASKETBALL GU Big Men Cut ND Down to Size Sweetney’s 21 Leads Hoyas By John-Paul Hezel Hoya Staff Writer

Charles Nailen/The Hoya Sophomore forward Mike Sweetney had his 10th double-double of the season against Notre Dame.

SOUTH BEND, Ind., Jan. 22. – With sarcastic chants raining down from the clover-clad Fighting Irish student section Monday night, Georgetown sophomore forward Mike Sweetney calmly hit the back end of a three-point play, his ninth point only seven minutes into the first half.

Sweetney added a layup off an offensive board to post 11 points and 11 rebounds in the first 12 minutes before sitting with his second foul. Although he did not play the rest of the first half, Sweetney’s strong start was enough to propel the Hoyas (12-3, 3-3) to an 83-73 win over Notre Dame (12-6, 2-3). The victory was Georgetown’s third in four games and the Hoyas’ third consecutive victory at the Joyce Center.

With 12:57 left in the opening half, Sweetney caught a pass from senior point guard Kevin Braswell, hit the layup and drew a foul. The crowd immediately began to chant “Slim Fast,” as the 260-pound Sweetney stepped to the line and sunk the free throw. The green students had yelled “GPA” on the Hoyas’ first possession and later waved McDonald’s bags when Sweetney again came to the line.

The big man proved that he is anything but overweight and awkward, ripping down ferocious rebounds and putting a feather’s touch on shot after shot. Sweetney recorded his 10th double-double of the season, finishing with 21 points and 16 rebounds, and fell one board shy of his career-high 17 set against UCLA on Dec. 29.

Coming off a 68-67 loss to No. 25 Pittsburgh last Saturday, Georgetown needed this victory to gain confidence and momentum heading into this Saturday’s rematch with the Panthers in Pittsburgh.

“I think that one of the . keys to the game was that our big guys played extremely well,” Georgetown Head Coach Craig Esherick said. “I thought that we made them shoot tough three’s the whole game, . and I thought Courtland, Wesley and Mike played as well as they played all year.”

As with most of Georgetown’s dominating team performances, rebounding and up-tempo defense allowed the Hoyas, who never trailed, to control the game from the opening tip.

On the Hoyas first possession, Sweetney and junior center Wesley Wilson each grabbed offensive boards, and Wilson hit 1-of-2 free throws to give the Hoyas a 1-0 lead. Sweetney cleaned up a miss on the next possession, and, after freshman forward Jordan Cornette tallied Notre Dame’s first bucket, Sweetney put back another miss, his third offensive rebound in the first two minutes.

Georgetown outrebounded the Irish 54-41, 33-22 on the defensive end and recorded 12 more second chance points, 28-16, than Notre Dame, due mostly to the inside supremacy of Sweetney, Wilson and junior sixth-man Courtland Freeman.

“Mike was real tough inside; he rebounded the ball well,” Esherick said. “Courtland gave us a huge lift when Wesley and Mike got in foul trouble, and I think Courtland was so tired he was begging for the halftime.”

Wilson and Freeman each added 11 points and combined for 13 rebounds.

From the opening possession, the Irish could not bang physically with the Hoyas. The absence of Irish senior forward and leading rebounder Harold Swanagan, out with an ankle injury that occurred last Saturday in Notre Dame’s loss to Kentucky, allowed the Hoyas’ size and strength to dictate play inside.

The Hoyas held the Irish to 37.3 percent shooting from the field – their second worst output of the season, including only 4-of-21 from three-point range.

“I think it’s real important that . when you play Notre Dame, you’ve got to do a good job on the shooters,” Esherick said.

Senior forward Ryan Humphrey shot only 8-of-22 from the field for a quiet 19 points and junior Matt Carroll hit 7-of-18 for 17.

Yet, despite overall tough defense by Georgetown, the Irish committed only six turnovers – a season low for an opponent against the Hoyas, who average 19.1 forced turnovers per game.

Much of the credit for Notre Dame’s low turnover total goes to freshman point guard and McDonald’s All-American Chris Thomas. The first Mr. Indiana (the award given to the best high school basketball player in the state) ever to attend Notre Dame, Thomas scored 13 points, dished out eight assists and turned the ball over only three times, while playing all 40 minutes.

“I was shocked when I saw how many turnovers Notre Dame had . they’ve got a heck of a point guard,” Esherick said. “And for them to have that many turnovers against us with the pressure we put on teams, that says something about their point guard. [Notre Dame Head Coach] Mike [Brey] has got one heck of a player in that kid.”

Georgetown turned the ball over 14 times and trailed 12-5 in points off turnovers.

But with the intensity at a season-high following the loss to Pitt, the Hoyas relied on balanced scoring to complement stellar defense. Five Georgetown players scored in double figures, including Braswell with 14 and freshman guard Tony Bethel with 12. Braswell played a team-high 38 minutes, while Bethel added a team-high six assists.

Georgetown went up by as many as 17 in the first half and 18 in the second, 72-54, with 7:04 remaining, but, backed by a raucous home crowd, the Irish went on a 16-5 run to close the lead to seven with 1:06 to play.

Any hope of a miracle comeback ended when the Notre Dame bench was called for a technical foul with 55.6 seconds left. Sweetney fought a rebound away from the two Irish players, when Brey ran to the middle of the court arguing for an over-the-back call. Referee Ted Valentine immediately called the technical. Braswell hit 1-of-2 free throws to secure the win.

It was the third technical of the game after Cornette and Hoya freshman forward Harvey Thomas tussled near the end of the first half. When Valentine refused to punish Thomas more severely than Cornette, many of the 11,102 fans at the Joyce Center booed Valentine and jeered the officials unabashedly for the remainder of the game.

But the story of the game was the overwhelming size of the Hoyas.

“They take up a lot of space in there. You bump off one to make a move, there’s another,” Brey said. “When Sweetney and Wilson are in there together, there’s not a lot of room.”