The Georgetown University men’s basketball team went into their home game against the Seton Hall University Pirates looking to bounce back after a tough loss to Xavier University earlier in the week.
The Hoyas (15-9, 6-7 Big East) ultimately met their goal as they took down the Pirates (6-18, 1-12 Big East) with a decisive 60-46 victory.
The Hoyas were able to win the tipoff, but that appeared to be their only positive outcome before the first media timeout. Georgetown shot an abysmal 1-for-7 in the four minute stretch, picked up 2 fouls and turned the ball over once.
Coming out of the first media timeout four minutes in, the Hoyas realized they had to match the Pirates’ physicality to be able to compete against the lack of foul calls on physical plays. Graduate guard Micah Peavy led the charge, picking up 7 of the Hoyas’ next 9 points, showing off some extra style on his layup to get the Hoyas within four.
Georgetown struggled to regain the lead for most of the first half but kept the score close. The Hoyas narrowed the Pirates’ lead to just 1 point four times before a layup from first-year forward Caleb Williams gave the Hoyas their first lead of the game with just over four minutes to play.
This stretch to regain the lead included clutch threes from Georgetown’s backcourt as well as physical rebounding and tough defense down low from first-year center Thomas Sorber.
The Hoyas followed this first lead-up with an 11-2 run in the final 3:07 of the half, complete with 6 points and an assist courtesy of Peavy. Peavy also showed his all-around skill with a steal during the stretch.
The real key to the Hoyas’ success at the end of the first half was their rebounding, as they outrebounded the Pirates 6-0 during their hot streak. Sorber and Peavy, who each ended the half with 4 rebounds, led the charge on rebounds for the Hoyas.
Getting off to a rough start in the second half, the Hoyas missed their first three 3-point attempts and allowed the Pirates to shave 5 points off Georgetown’s lead. Although Peavy was able to finally score one of Georgetown’s first baskets of the half, the Hoyas continued to turn the ball over and shoot a low percentage from the field.
Despite starting the second half shooting 2-for-10, Georgetown was finally able to reclaim some momentum off a tough rebound from junior guard Jayden Epps, who assisted Peavy on a powerful reverse slam.
Sorber added to the Hoyas’ momentum with a dunk to put Georgetown up by 6 with just over 10 minutes to play. Sophomore guard Curtis Williams Jr. built on his teammates’ work, flying in out of nowhere to grab an offensive board and get the put-back layup, his first field goal of the game.
The crowd got in on the Hoyas’ run of momentum to hold on to their lead as Head Coach Ed Cooley energetically encouraged the fans to get loud on defense leading into the final minutes of the game.
The Hoyas were rolling going into the final minute as the crowd chanted “one more year” to NBA draft pick-projected center Sorber after his most powerful dunk of the game. Sorber’s last rebound also clinched him his eighth double-double of the season, the most of all first-years in the United States. Georgetown was able to finish out the game strong and beat down Seton Hall with a final score of 60-46.
When asked after the game about his big plays that shifted the momentum for Georgetown, Sorber said he would do whatever his teammates and coaches needed from him to succeed.
“It means a lot to me,” Sorber said in a postgame press conference. “You know, I’m a team player. I want to do anything to help my team win. So I can do whatever I gotta do to help my team.”
“Be the glue guy. If I gotta go get rebounds, go get rebounds. If I gotta get a block shot, I gotta get a block shot for my team. So I’m gonna just do anything to help my team win,” Sorber said.
Georgetown will be in action next against Butler University in Indianapolis on Feb. 15 at 2 p.m. Fans can catch the game on FS1 to see if the Hoyas can create a winning streak.
