Georgetown men’s basketball fell early to the University of Connecticut Huskies and, despite their best efforts and a last-second run, could not claw their way back on top. 

The Feb. 27 game was also senior day for Hoya graduate guard Donald Carey and graduate guard Kaiden Rice. No. 18 Connecticut (21-8, 12-6 Big East) came into the game on a four-game winning streak against Big East opponents. Georgetown (6-23, 0-18 Big East) entered without a win in Big East play and on a 17-game losing streak.

Neither team was able to get on the board for the first two minutes of the game. Junior center Timothy Ighoefe ended the drought with a putback layup at the 17:49 mark. To the Hoyas’ credit, they showed off some improved defense early compared to previous games, forcing four Husky turnovers by the 16-minute media timeout. A 3-pointer by Carey put Georgetown ahead 9-5 with 15:09 to play in the first half, to the delight of the roaring Hoya crowd.

The Georgetown lead was short-lived, however, as UConn ripped off a quick 5-0 run to take control, 10-9. The teams exchanged baskets, and neither was able to build any sort of lead over the next few minutes. Connecticut was outworking the Hoyas on the boards, earning four early offensive rebounds and turning them into 8 second-chance points. With 11:59 to play, the Huskies led 15-13.

After the 12-minute media timeout, the Hoyas brought more intensity on the offensive glass. Sophomore forward Kobe Clark corralled two straight offensive rebounds until finally junior center Malcolm Wilson was fouled and hit 1 of 2 free throws with his unorthodox one-handed free throw form. UConn continued to out-rebound the Hoyas on the other end, however, and used a string of baskets in the paint to get out to a 22-14 lead with 7:47 remaining. 

The Huskies kept rolling as the first half winded down, hitting two straight triples to make it 28-16. The Georgetown offense flowed through first-year center Ryan Mutombo, who scored 7 straight points to keep the Hoyas alive as the UConn run continued. With four minutes left in the half, Connecticut led 32-21.

The Huskies continued to get nearly everything they wanted offensively, and they led 41-26 at the half. Georgetown struggled to keep Connecticut off the offensive boards for the whole period, giving up seven offensive rebounds and 12 second-chance points. In the first half alone, UConn guard Tyrese Martin had 12 first-half rebounds; he’s only had more than 12 rebounds in a full game once this season.

The Hoyas injected some energy into their offense to open up the second half. First-year guard Aminu Mohammed opened the scoring with a pair of free throws and the game kicked up to a high-intensity pace. Carey had 4 points in the first five minutes of the second half and with 15:54 to play, the Hoyas had cut the lead to 48-35. UConn responded with two 3-pointers to take a 54-37 lead. A few minutes later, the Huskies hit two more 3-pointers to extend their lead to 20, 66-46.

Neither team scored between the 8:12 and 6:12 marks. The Connecticut lead hovered around 20 points and with 2:53 remaining, the Huskies led 81-59. As has become Georgetown basketball tradition, the Hoyas then went on a torrid 13-0 run to come within 9 points of Connecticut, 81-72. Sophomore guard Dante Harris provided 7 of the points in the Hoyas’ run, while Mohammed pitched in the other 6.

UConn Head Coach Dan Hurley was forced to put his starting lineup back into the game to hold off the Georgetown attack, but Harris still managed to nail a three-pointer and Mohammed followed with a dunk on the Connecticut end. It would prove to be too little too late, however, and Connecticut escaped with an 86-77 victory.

Harris was a bright spot for the Hoyas in the loss, pouring in 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting, all coming in the second half. Mohammed provided 16 points of his own, 12 of which came from the charity stripe. Carey added 13 points on his senior night while Mutombo finished with 9 points in just 11 minutes.

Following this loss to UConn, Georgetown again fell to the Seton Hall Pirates (19-9, 10-8 Big East) 68-73 in its March 2 contest. The Hoyas will have one last chance to snag a conference win when they travel to Cincinnati to face Xavier (17-12, 7-11 Big East) this Saturday, March 5.