When Georgetown University (12-6, 3-4 Big East) entered their matchup against the DePaul University Blue Demons (10-9, 1-7 Big East), a team that had previously lost 39 consecutive regular-season Big East games, the struggling Hoyas hoped to break a losing streak of their own. This month, the Hoyas fell in competitive contests against Marquette University, University of Connecticut and St. John’s University before their 73-68 loss to the Blue Demons on Friday, Jan. 17.
Against DePaul, first-half shooting woes ultimately resulted in too deep a hole for the Hoyas to climb out of despite second-half defensive might. With two of their four top scorers — junior guard Jayden Epps and first-year center Thomas Sorber — sidelined due to injury, Georgetown’s offense was unproductive during the first half.
Head Coach Ed Cooley said the Hoyas’ late wake-up was a deciding factor in the outcome after the game.
“I thought our kids played hard for 10 minutes. That’s it,” Cooley told reporters in a postgame press conference.
The Hoyas started off cold, shooting 2-10 from the field in the first five minutes of play despite taking multiple uncontested midrange jump shots. They also missed their first seven 3-pointers — an unfortunate slump when DePaul shot 4-8 from that same range in the first half. The Blue Demons found their largest lead at 17 points with under two minutes remaining in the half, largely thanks to an 11-0 run where the Hoyas remained scoreless for five straight minutes.
The energy shifted, however, when sophomore guard Malik Mack drilled a contested three from the wing to close out the half and cut the deficit to 11 points. Mack would finish with 19 points, 6 assists and more than a few acrobatic finishes at the rim. Sophomore center Drew Fielder was also a consistent scoring presence, logging 19 points of his own along with 8 rebounds.
The second half was a complete turnaround — baskets suddenly fell and the crowd at Capital One Arena responded emphatically as Georgetown crept closer to a comeback. Mack showed off his craftiness with back-to-back left-handed finishes as the crowd roared in admiration. On the other end, Fielder took a textbook defensive stand and forced a miss, which led to a lob from Mack to sophomore forward Jordan Burks and an eruption from the Georgetown fans in attendance.
Cooley spoke to the fan’s consistent enthusiasm throughout the contest after the game.
“The building energy helped us for sure,” Cooley said. “I appreciated our crowd today; they helped us more than they know.”
Sophomore guard Curtis Williams Jr. contributed 8 second-half points in electric fashion; he banked in a three off a steal by Mack and then flew through the air for a miraculous reverse layup on their next possession to cut DePaul’s lead to 4. A clutch 3-pointer from Mack with two minutes remaining brought the Hoyas to a gripping 2-point deficit.
With 26 seconds to play, forward Troy D’Amico hit the dagger for DePaul, sinking a pullup three and extending their lead to 5. D’Amico’s bucket ended the Blue Demons’ nearly six-minute field goal drought — something the stifling Georgetown defense used to keep the Hoyas alive.
Graduate guard Micah Peavy, who finished with 10 rebounds, managed a quick jumper on the fast break, but even Williams Jr.’s ensuing three was not enough to outlast DePaul’s free throw conversions in one-and-one. Despite their tenacious second-half rally, the Hoyas missed Epps and Sorber dearly in the first half, which undoubtedly contributed to Georgetown missing the mark.
In spite of the injuries, Cooley believes Georgetown has one of the best defensive teams in the country when they communicate well.
“The best thing we can do is communicate better,” Cooley said. “I thought our communication was poor for 30 minutes. And you can see the real defensive Georgetown team showed up in the last 10 minutes of the game.”
Georgetown will travel to Villanova University (12-7, 5-3 Big East) on Jan. 20 to face the Wildcats with a chance of bouncing back to .500 in conference play. An Epps or Sorber return to the court is unclear as of Jan. 19, but the Hoyas have the potential to be at full strength for the first time since Dec. 14.
