Suffering a 76-70 loss to them earlier in the season, the Georgetown men’s basketball team seeks redemption as they play host to the Providence Friars in a Big East battle on Monday night.
In its loss to Providence (12-7, 2-4 Big East) on January 4th, Georgetown (10-8, 1-4 Big East) failed to stop the Friars’ late second-half run. Junior forward Emmitt Holt scored nine of his 17 points in the final six minutes of play, sealing the victory for Providence. Georgetown’s offense struggled with its shooting at Providence, making only 41 percent from the floor and 50 percent from the free throw line.
The Hoyas, however, head into this rematch off of two straight wins. They blew out conference foe St. John’s (8-11, 2-4 Big East) 83-55 on January 9, snapping their four-game losing streak. They also regained their shooting touch from the line – shooting 81.8 percent – and outrebounded the Red Storm 50-30.
Providence — who started the season 10-2 — has lost five of its last seven, but proved to be a tough matchup for Georgetown. In the last matchup, Friars junior guard Jalen Lindsey wreaked havoc, scoring 19 points with four three-pointers. Junior forward Rodney Bullock scored 15 points in that game and leads the Friars with 17.5 points per game.
Georgetown’s last game against Connecticut could prove to be the spark it needs to finally close games out late. The team faced a 14-point deficit early in the second half but ended the game hot to regain the lead. Despite being up only two points in the last two minutes, the Hoyas’ defense held off the dangerous Huskies squad for a 72-69 win.
Junior guard L.J. Peak came up huge for Georgetown in the win, scoring 16 of his 21 points in the second half, including the team’s final basket to extend its lead to 69-65 with 44 seconds left. Peak is averaging 16.2 points and 3.2 assists per game for the Hoyas, as well as shooting an impressive 84.3 percent from the free throw line.
Junior forward Akoy Agau has regained his confidence as of late and could be a determinant to the Hoyas’ success. Against the Huskies, game, Agau played 15 minutes off the bench, grabbing six rebounds and making key free throws in the final minute. Sophomore forward Marcus Derrickson — scoring a career-high 26 points in the last game against the Friar — has averaged 13.9 points in his last seven games.
Georgetown will wrap up a four-game home stand against Providence, hoping to end on a high note before facing even tougher Big East competition, including third-ranked Villanova (17-1, 5-1 Big East) and eighth-ranked Creighton (17-1, 4-1 Big East).
Tipoff for the game is set for 9 p.m. on Monday at the Verizon Center. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1 and can be heard locally on 106.7 FM.
