For most of the season, the Georgetown University men’s basketball team has been plagued by a second-half bug.
During their game against the Marquette University Golden Eagles on Feb. 24, the Hoyas seemed to catch it as early as the 11-minute mark, when the Golden Eagles went on a 19-5 run, punctuated by an emphatic dunk from guard Nigel James Jr. to take the lead, and never looked back.
The game gave Marquette — 0-10 in away games this season coming into Capital One Arena and dead last in the Big East — their first road win of the season and puts a damper on any hopes Georgetown may have had for a bye in the Big East tournament.
Georgetown (13-15, 5-12 Big East) disappointed against Marquette (10-18, 5-12 Big East) in a dismal 76-60 loss despite a valiant effort from senior center Vince Iwuchukwu, who tallied 19 points and 7 rebounds in 25 minutes. The game continues an already-dismal stretch of the season for the Hoyas, who extended their losing streak to 5 games. To make matters worse, junior guard KJ Lewis injured himself near the end of the first half and did not return to the game.
Georgetown Head Coach Ed Cooley, who received a technical foul after a frustrated argument with the officials, said he was disappointed by the loss, attributing it to a lack of spirit by the team.
“We helped ourselves today lose the game — turned the ball over, didn’t play with a growl, didn’t play with a thrust,” Cooley said in the post-game press conference. “These Big East games in the dog days of February, teams that want it the most are winning, and right now it’s very disappointing, as we’re not playing the way we should be playing at home.”
This lack of effort seemed present on both ends of the court. Georgetown’s shooting woes continued after the slow start, as the team shot a combined 37.7% from the field and a disastrous 16% from the 3-point line. Defensively, the Hoyas’ on-ball defense suffered, as the team allowed 5 of Marquette’s players to notch at least 10 points.
Both teams came out sloppy to start the game, combining for 6 turnovers in the first 3 minutes. Marquette failed to capitalize on the turnovers, however, allowing Georgetown to come out to an early 8-4 lead behind a pair of Iwuchukwu 2-pointers.
From there, the Hoyas kept pace with the Golden Eagles behind continued contributions from Iwuchukwu and consistent scoring from sophomore forward Isaiah Abraham. Despite allowing several fast break opportunities for Marquette, Georgetown entered the under-12 media timeout up 18-14.
Georgetown held on for a few more minutes before a barrage of 3-pointers from Marquette quickly turned the tide. With the game tied at 25, a mid-range fade-away gave the Golden Eagles a 2-point lead, and a pair of 3-pointers on the next 2 possessions widened the deficit to 8.
Abraham hit a tough layup with four minutes left in the first half to stem the Hoyas’ bleeding, but it wasn’t enough to reverse the flow as a costly turnover immediately led to 2 free throws for Marquette. Despite quality shot-making over the last few minutes of the half, Georgetown entered halftime trailing 35-40.
The second half continued with the beat-down the Hoyas experienced at the end of the first. Despite graduate guard Jeremiah Williams tipping off the scoring with a top-of-the-key 3-pointer, Marquette’s tenacious defense — especially on inbound passes — and hustle on fast-break attempts quickly put Georgetown in a 13-point deficit just five minutes into the half.
James Jr. led the effort for the Golden Eagles, scoring efficiently and seemingly at will to claw away at any chance the Hoyas had to get back into the game. Marquette’s defensive game plan also blanketed Iwuchukwu in the second half. He posted only 4 points after a 15-point first half.
Despite heroics by Abraham and junior guard Malik Mack that dug into Marquette’s lead, the deficit returned to 12 after an emphatic dunk by James Jr. with five minutes to play, all but putting the nail in the coffin for the Hoyas. Georgetown limped to a 16-point loss at the end of regulation, at which point they were put out of their misery by the buzzer.
Cooley said Lewis would undergo health screenings to determine the severity of his injury and the guard’s ability to play later this week.
“I’m pretty sure he’s gonna get an X-ray and MRI,” Cooley said. “He did have some severe swelling, so that’s not a good sign. Just cross our fingers and pray that he’s okay, because that’s definitely a major loss for us.”
The Hoyas will seek to turn the tide and end their losing streak against Xavier University (13-14, 5-11 Big East) on Feb. 28 at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati.
