Playing from behind all game, the Georgetown men’s basketball team fell 96-73 to the No. 20/19 University of Connecticut Huskies. Despite first-year guard Aminu Mohammed’s 15 points and 7 rebounds on the night, the Hoyas lost their seventh consecutive game to remain without a win in conference play.

UConn (14-4, 5-2 Big East) commanded the paint early in the game, taking a 5-0 lead on two layups and a free throw from its big men. Georgetown (6-11, 0-6 Big East) quickly responded with sophomore forward Collin Holloway hitting a 3-pointer and junior center Timothy Ighoefe knocking down a short jumper to pull the Hoyas even, 5-5. 

The Hoyas’ sophomore guard Dante Harris then tried to split a Husky double team and lost the ball, leading to an easy dunk for UConn on the other end of the court. On the next trip down, Harris forced a risky pass that was picked off by a Husky defender, ending in another UConn basket. With 13:21 left to play in the first half down 17-9, Georgetown Head Coach Patrick Ewing (CAS ’85) was forced to call a timeout.

The remainder of the first half brought more offensive struggles for Georgetown as each bucket was met with a UConn response. Still, the Hoyas managed to show flashes of potential. With 4:54 remaining, graduate guard Donald Carey connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to pull Georgetown within 5 points, 31-36. 

Heading into halftime, though, UConn settled in and continued to score at will in transition. Even though Mohammed had one of the better halves of his season, scoring 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, the Huskies rolled into the break with a double-digit lead. 

UConn opened the second half with yet another 5-0 run, bringing their lead up to 17 points just 2:25 into the new half. With 16:03 remaining in the game, Georgetown rolled out a full-court press, earning two steals that helped it pull the score to 43-57.  Still, the Hoyas remained powerless on the defensive boards, allowing the Huskies to pull down offensive rebound after offensive rebound and earn easy second-chance points.

With 11:23 to play, the Huskies led by 20 points, 72-52, and were controlling the pace at both ends of the court. Ewing called a timeout with 9:19 remaining, but Georgetown was unable to pull closer over the last 9 minutes, limping to a 73-96 defeat. Junior guard Chuma Azinge made a layup with 0:37 remaining, becoming the last Hoya to score in the challenging contest.

Along with Mohammed’s impressive performance, Holloway and Carey also added double-digit performances, finishing with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Ighoefe pulled down five rebounds and first-year center Ryan Mutombo pitched in six points and six rebounds off the bench. Georgetown made 11-of-21 3-pointers on the night but struggled on the boards, giving up 40 rebounds to UConn while grabbing only 28 of their own.

The Hoyas will look to bounce back against the Butler Bulldogs on Saturday, Jan. 29 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. The game will tip off at noon and be broadcast live on FS1.