The Georgetown University men’s basketball team entered the Dean E. Smith Center looking to upset No. 16 University of North Carolina (UNC) Tarheels and for a brief moment appeared to have a chance, but tepid defense and a lifeless second half doomed the Hoyas.
Georgetown (6-3) fell to UNC (8-1) 81-61 Sunday, Dec. 7 as the Tarheels dominated the second half.
In front of a vocal 18,583-strong crowd at the Dean Dome, the Hoyas took the opening tip, got it to sophomore center Julius Halaifonua at the low block who spun and knocked down a layup to open it at 2-0, but UNC guard Kyan Evans knocked down a three on the next possession for their first lead of the game.
The first few minutes went back and forth, and Georgetown took an early 14-9 lead into the under-16 media timeout. Junior guard KJ Lewis continued his exceptional form and caught fire early, racking up 7 points and 2 steals that powered that early lead. Lewis slowed down slightly, along with the rest of the team, in the second half, but still led the team with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block and 3 steals.
However, the Tarheels soon fought back, making 6 field goals in a row and opening up a 30-25 lead over the next seven minutes. The strong shooting run forced Georgetown Head Coach Ed Cooley to call timeout with 8:20 on the clock in an effort to muster defensive energy.
Out of that break, the Hoyas switched to a 3-2 zone, which was successful at holding UNC scoreless for over three minutes. A poorly-timed bad offensive run for Georgetown, though, prevented them from taking an advantage and the Tarheels retained a 4-point lead heading into the under-4 timeout.
Soon thereafter, Lewis got hit hard in the head. As he was visibly in pain, the officials sent him off court to be evaluated for a concussion. Lewis sat out the remainder of the half and the Tarheels took advantage of his absence to secure a 44-39 advantage at the break.
Both teams made 16 field goals in the first half. UNC only had one more 3-pointer made than the Hoyas too, but the real differentiator was their performance at the foul line. The Tarheels made 8 free throws to Georgetown’s 4.
Coming out of the tunnel for the second period, the game continued in much the same back-and-forth as defined the first. When Halaifonua picked up his fourth foul with over 16 minutes left in the game, things began to turn sour.
Just under a minute later, junior guard Malik Mack drove to the rim and fell after a hard contest from UNC guard Derek Dixon. Mack’s leg swung around, hitting Dixon. After a review, the officials called a flagrant-1 foul on Mack. The technical free throw plus retaining possession kicked off a 10-2 Tarheel run that ultimately put the game out of reach at 62-47.
No player’s struggles more epitomized the rough day for the Hoyas than Mack. Mack was 3 for 17 from the field and only 1 for 7 from beyond the arc.
The Hoyas soon after fought the game back to single digits off a 7-0 run, before guard Jonathan Powell nailed a three in response. In the next three minutes, the game practically stopped. Neither side scored for the three minutes heading into the under-8 timeout, and the Hoyas still trailed 65-54.
By the under-4, the Tarheels had extended their lead to 77-59 and their victory was all but assured.
After the game, Cooley said the team’s offense was poor, and Georgetown played selfishly.
“I give our offensive discipline an F-minus,” Cooley said. “It’s a ‘we’ sport. It’s an ‘us’ sport. It’s a team sport. I think we got a little frustrated, and we tried to do it single-handedly by ourselves, so that’s something we’ll address.”
Cooley also defended his star guard, saying he had full confidence in Mack and shouldered the blame himself for the team’s poor offensive performance.
“You can’t lose your mind,” Cooley told The Hoya. “He’s one of the baddest dudes in the country, so you got to give the other team credit for doing a great job defending him.”
“This is on me. I didn’t do a good job with my men, and I think I’m a damn good coach. I just wasn’t good today. It’s not going to define me,” Cooley added. “This is not about just one person. This is a team effort. He didn’t play well — give them credit. But I got all the belief in the world in Malik Mack. I love him.”
The Hoyas will take the next week off before hosting Saint Peter’s University (4-4, 2-0 Metro Atlantic) at McDonough Arena Dec. 13.
