Hoyas Drop First Two in Big East By Julie Wood Hoya Staff Writer

Georgetown took advantage of its early season schedule, getting out to a 10-0 start, but was quickly brought back to reality once Big East play started. After getting a win against Rutgers, Georgetown dropped two winnable games to Boston College and West Virginia and were dismantled by Connecticut, falling to 1-3 in the Big East.

Despite hanging close with both the Golden Eagles and the ountaineers, the Hoyas could not convert spurts of strong play into wins.

Against B.C. on Jan. 6, Georgetown lost, 72-64. In that game, junior swingman Darrell Owens was the Hoyas’ best source of offense, scoring a career-high 20 points. Scoring leaders senior guard Gerald Riley and sophomore forward Brandon Bowman were held to nine and 11 points, respectively, in shaky shooting nights for both. As a whole, Georgetown shot 34 percent.

Despite its offensive woes, Georgetown stuck with B.C. until Eagle sophomore forward Craig Smith took over, scoring 19 of his team’s final 30 points and finishing with 24 on the evening.

In a 62-58 loss to West Virginia, Georgetown played one of its worst games in recent memory. Mountaineers star junior guard Drew Schifino, their undisputed best player, sat out the game in a suspension which later turned into a dismissal from the team. He was formally dismissed on Jan. 12, due to violations of team rules, including missing practices. According to a statement by West Virginia coach John Beilein, the 6-foot-3 junior may look to transfer schools following the incident.

But Schifino’s absence did not help the Hoyas play any better offensively, as they struggled throughout. They shot 31 percent for the game, and the team’s best shooter, Owens, was 3-of-11, while Riley was 5-of-15 and Cook was 6-of-18. The Hoyas scored just 15 points in the first half.

Georgetown was only down by three with 2:28 left, but could not convert. It had its chances to pull ahead, making runs of 16-5 and 10-0 in the second half, and outrebounding West Virginia in the game. But the team also had trouble getting to the free-throw line, going 8-for-12 in the game, while West Virginia was 28-of-40.