With graduate guard Micah Peavy and junior guard Jayden Epps starring on both sides of the ball, the Georgetown University men’s basketball team secured arguably its most impactful win in years Dec. 18, thrashing the Creighton University Bluejays 81-57.
Comparing the two teams’ recent histories, the game seemed like a mismatch, with the Hoyas (9-2, 1-0 Big East) perpetually mired at the bottom of the Big East while Creighton (7-5, 0-1 Big East) — a team coming off two consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearances, ranked 15th nationally to start off the season and victorious over No. 1 Kansas by double digits two weeks prior—competed at the top.
Yet with the Bluejays’ star guard Pop Isaacs lost to injury and the Hoyas’ young core seeming to mesh in victories over Syracuse University and University at Albany, Georgetown secured a convincing victory — their first victory in a conference opener since 2018 — made more impressive by the absences of starting guard sophomore Malik Mack and first-year guard Kayvaun Mulready.
The game started off hot and close, tied at 9 only 3:02 in. Yet long periods of low-scoring, more sloppy basketball followed throughout the first half, with Creighton holding Georgetown without scoring for nearly six minutes.
Yet the Hoyas’ defense held strong, too, holding Creighton to only 28 points in the half while first-year forward Thomas Sorber and sophomore guard Curtis Williams Jr. paced the team in first-half scoring with 8 points each. One Williams 3-pointer showed the Hoyas’ potential in transition, with sophomore forward Drew Fielder sprinting down the court, teeing up Sorber to assist Williams’ corner 3. By the end of the first half, the Hoyas had scored the half’s final eight points and held a 34-28 lead.
In the second half, the Hoyas accelerated, with dominant play on both offense and defense ensuring Georgetown never relinquished that lead.
Peavy in particular shone, scoring 16 in the second half. Within one eye-catching five-minute second-half span, he robbed 4 different Bluejays’ errant passes, following each of his steals with easy dunks for 8 points and taking Georgetown’s lead from 46-35 to 59-41 amid a 28-8 run.
Epps, too, performed well, scoring 14 points in the second half, including his 1,000th career college point on a pinpoint 3-pointer over Creighton’s zone defense.
Georgetown’s narrow halftime lead soon boomed behind 9 second-half steals and 14 points off turnovers. By the end of a rampant second half, the Hoyas had widened their lead to a crushing 24, the team’s first double-digit conference win in over three years.
On the heels of a rivalry victory over Syracuse on Dec. 14, this win is another statement for Georgetown, a complete offensive and defensive performance. Already, the Hoyas have matched last year’s win total and, though Big East play has hardly started, their 1-0 record is their first winning record in the conference in six years.
Of note, the Hoyas’ shooting was exceptional, with the team making 55% of their shots, including 62.5% (10-for-16) from 3, and scoring 32 points in the paint. Epps, who led the team with 21 points, went 5-for-6 from beyond the arc, while Peavy shot 9-for-16 overall and scored 20. Williams Jr.’s 12 points off the bench and first-year forward Caleb Williams’ eight rebounds helped ensure the Hoyas’ rotation was uninterrupted in Mack’s absence.
Defensively, besides Peavy, Sorber performed well, guarding 7-foot-1 Creighton center and Big East Preseason Player of the Year Ryan Kalkbrenner and holding him to only 10 points.
Head Coach Ed Cooley said the victory was the team’s best defensive game during his time at Georgetown.
“I just thought that our attention to detail and our preparation was outstanding,” Cooley told Georgetown Athletics. “I thought Micah Peavy and Jayden Epps set the tone defensively with our on-ball pressure, our interior defense and our ability to be disruptive.”
“I’m just really proud of all of our guys that stepped onto the floor tonight and all of our guys that contributed to an incredible win,” Cooley added.
Peavy said the win would boost the team heading into conference play.
“We’re a young team, and it just shows everyone that we can compete with anybody,” Peavy told Georgetown Athletics.
The Hoyas next take on another conference opponent, Seton Hall University, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., Dec. 22 at 7 p.m. Eastern.
