The Georgetown University men’s basketball team took on the Xavier University Musketeers in Cincinnati on Feb. 4, looking to clinch their first back-to-back Big East wins since the beginning of conference play.
But the Hoyas (14-9, 5-7 Big East) ultimately fell 74-69 to the Musketeers (14-9, 6-6 Big East) on account of too many fouls and poor shooting from deep.
From the start, first-year center Thomas Sorber led the Hoyas, scoring 8 of the team’s first 11 points and picking up two blocks in the same span to give Georgetown an 11-7 lead with 14:26 remaining.
Graduate guard Micah Peavy picked up where Sorber left off, cashing in two shots from deep to extend the Hoyas’ lead to 22-16 at the 8:01 mark of the first half. Peavy matched his offensive prowess with strong defense, collecting a steal during the stretch.
Coming out of a media timeout, it appeared as though Sorber’s sustained dominance — a made jumper was his fifth make on 6 attempts — would push the Hoyas to a big first half lead. Although the basket gave Georgetown its largest lead of the half, an 8-point, 24-16 advantage with 7:06 remaining, Xavier quickly evaporated the deficit, embarking on an 8-0 run in under two minutes to tie the game.
After trading makes, Xavier guard Ryan Conwell made a mid-range jumper to give the Musketeers their first lead since the early minutes of the game.
The Hoyas struggled mightily to end the first half, missing 5 consecutive field goal attempts and 2 free throws to allow a 14-2 Musketeers run in the half’s final seven minutes. During this same stretch, Georgetown was out-rebounded 8-3, resulting in several second-chance baskets for Xavier.
At the half, the Musketeers led 30-26.
Despite a powerful dunk by Sorber only 10 seconds into the second half, Georgetown’s deficit quickly exploded. 3 steals over a two minute period by Xavier’s sneaky defense, including 2 by forward Zach Freemantle, allowed the Musketeers to grow their lead to 39-30.
The Hoyas did rebound, flipping the script and collecting 4 steals themselves in as many minutes. Sophomore guard Malik Mack put points on the board for Georgetown in this stretch, cashing in a 3-pointer and recording 2 assists in quick succession. With 10:06 remaining in the game, the Hoyas only trailed by 1 point, behind 43-42.
The two teams then combined for 7 fouls and 11 free throw attempts in just 83 seconds — and no possessions without a foul — an abnormally long stretch of consecutive contact.
Following the string of fouls, the Hoyas were only down by 2 points and had an opportunity to upset the 8.5 point favorites on the road with a strong finish.
While Georgetown continued to knock down shots, so did the Musketeers, who kept the game just out of reach until the final minute.
The Hoyas entered the last 45 seconds down 9 points, but made free throws by Mack and a 3-pointer by Peavy on a Mack pass gave Georgetown a chance.
Unfortunately, the comeback effort came too late, as the Hoyas could not overcome the deficit incurred by 18 team fouls, falling to the Musketeers 74-69.
Peavy continued to excel in the loss, with an efficient 27 points on 11-19 shooting to go along with 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a block. Sorber added 17 points and 2 blocks, and Mack contributed 13 points, 8 assists and 2 steals.
The Hoyas next face the Seton Hall University Pirates (6-17, 1-11 Big East) on Feb. 8 at Capital One Arena, as the team looks to get back into the win column.