The Georgetown University men’s basketball team fell 86-83 to the Creighton University Bluejays in overtime Jan. 13, continuing a disappointing five-game conference losing streak after playing solid basketball for long stretches of the night in Omaha, Neb.
Head Coach Ed Cooley, deciding to change things up after Georgetown’s (9-8, 1-5 Big East) recent skid to kick off Big East play, gave senior center Vince Iwuchukwu his first start of the season. Graduate guard Langston Love also made his first start for the Hoyas in place of the ill sophomore forward Isaiah Abraham.
Despite signs of improvement, including Georgetown shooting 57% from the field, the Hoyas’ efforts were not enough to overcome Creighton (11-7, 5-2 Big East), which also shot well. Creighton guard Austin Swartz was particularly impactful, shooting 12-for-16 — and 8-for-12 from three — for a career-high 33 points.
The game started how it would end, with high-quality shot-making. Love lost the ball under the basket after Georgetown won the tip, and the Bluejays went down the court for a quick 3-pointer. Georgetown junior guard Malik Mack swiftly avenged his teammate with a sweet pass to Iwuchukwu inside for a dunk.
Both teams caught fire early, combining for 9-for-11 from the field in the first four minutes, culminating in a stepback 3-pointer from Mack to give the Hoyas a narrow 13-12 lead at the under-16 timeout.
The game stayed tight as both teams continued shooting well. Mack drove down the lane to give Georgetown a 24-22 lead with 10:23 to play in the half.
Georgetown continued its strong start as junior guard KJ Lewis knocked down a three for his first points of the night. On their next possession, the Hoyas tore back down the court, and sophomore center Julius Halaifonua potted a second-chance layup, giving Georgetown a 32-22 lead off the back of a 10-0 run with 6:12 to play.
As the half came to a close, Georgetown subbed out four players, putting graduate guard Jeremiah Williams and sophomore guard Kayvaun Mulready into the game, but both posted negative plus-minuses. The Hoyas’ momentum and lead evaporated.
Creighton made three 3-pointers on a 12-0 run in the last three minutes of the half. After leading by ten with three minutes to go, the Hoyas trailed 38-36 going into the half.
Out of the locker room, Creighton sank three more 3-pointers, all from Swartz. Georgetown kept pace, but Creighton held onto a 51-48 lead at the under-16 timeout.
Although he started quietly, with 9:47 left, Lewis came to life, stealing the ball and tearing down the court before getting his pass back from sophomore forward Jayden Fort and cashing a three to return the lead to Georgetown at 59-58.
Things got tense after an and-one and a layup off a Mack turnover for Creighton, shrinking the Hoyas’ lead to 76-73 with 59 seconds left. With 19 seconds left, Swartz tied the game with his eighth three-pointer.
As time expired, Love thought he won the game for the Hoyas with a buzzer-beater layup called good on the court, but after video review, the officials ruled the shot came after time expired, although the broadcast feed seemed inconclusive. The clock appeared to show 0.1 seconds remaining, even as the red lights on the baskets signaling the end of the game went off. Compounding the challenge, the camera angles made it difficult to see when exactly the ball left Love’s hand.
After the game, Cooley disparaged the officiating. Cooley said the officials did not explain the ruling to him, and he was confused how the shot was ruled out when the replay feed seemed unclear, saying he would later ask the Big East to explain the decision.
“I need a full explanation of — is it the clock?” Cooley said at the postgame press conference. “There’s four different views that I just saw. If it’s good on the floor and it’s inconclusive, what does that mean? I’m not saying that’s why we lost the game, but I do need an explanation from my league office.”
“In a 50-50 situation, I don’t know how it’s overruled,” Cooley added. “They called, I guess, what they saw. We’re looking at it from our angle, like: If it’s good on the floor, how are you overturning that?”
Beginning overtime, Iwuchukwu won the tipoff, but Swartz jumped the tip and converted an and-one. Iwuchukwu landed awkwardly after the tip and stayed down, needing help off the court. He did not return.
Lewis answered with a corner 3-pointer before Halaifonua’s layup gave Georgetown the lead, but Swartz responded with a pull-up jumper to tie the game at 81 with 2:40 left in overtime.
Creighton took the lead with 1:04 left, and after another basket from Lewis, Swartz gave the Bluejays the lead back with 30 seconds remaining before a free throw extended the lead to 86-83 with 9 seconds to play.
The Hoyas took the ball up court, and Cooley called a timeout to generate an open look from beyond the arc for one of his hot hands. Cooley drew up a dribble hand-off to Lewis, but Creighton read it well and forced a contested, off-balance shot as time ran out, which missed the rim.
Once a tenth of a second away from victory, the Hoyas dropped the game, their fifth consecutive in conference play.
Cooley said he appreciated his team’s offensive improvement despite the loss.
“I’m really proud of our group,” Cooley said. “I thought we played hard, thought we played connected, thought we played together.”
“That one was tough. Shit happens,” he added, ending the press conference with an emphatic slam of the table.
The Hoyas are back home at noon Jan. 13 for a sold-out matchup against the No. 3 University of Connecticut Huskies (17-1, 7-0 Big East), in what will be a challenging attempt to reinvigorate the season.
