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With 11 minutes 23 seconds remaining in the first half, one lucky student took to the court during the game’s second TV timeout with a chance to win a couple hundred bucks. After making his layup and missing his free throw, the diminutive Hoya stepped out beyond the arc for the big-money ball. With half the crowd still taunting him for his airballed free throw and the other cheering him on, he launched up a shot with form worse than a Vernon Macklin free throw and an arch far higher than a Jonathan Wallace three. After nearly scraping the ceiling, the ball miraculously dropped through the net, barely even grazing nylon. It was a sequence befitting the setting. Saturday night’s event in McDonough Gymnasium – and I’m not talking about Georgetown’s play in the 110-51 rout against Radford – was a little awkward, kind of unconventional, not always pretty, but still just about as good as it gets. While McDonough Gymnasium is many things, state of the art and spacious are not among them. Built in 1952, it holds just over 2,500 people, meaning the athletic department has trouble accommodating all interested students and alumni and can only allocate the bare minimum number of tickets to opposing fans. There is a long list of reasons why McDonough Gymnasium does not deserve to play host to a high level Division I basketball game. The sound system is beyond awful – the cackle the PA system made the baby sitting behind me cry on at least three occasions – and the acoustics make the Coolio concert at Leo’s sound like it was at Symphony Hall. The scoreboard, minimal as it is, usually works, but anyone who attended the Kenner League games last summer knows that the McDonough scoreboard is prone to devilish outbursts with wildly flashing lights and strange sounds. The overhead lights take so long to turn on that they cannot be dimmed for pregame introductions. Maybe most bizarre is that the concessions stand serves drinks in red Solo cups. And yet, the games in McDonough remain among each season’s most memorable, even against opponents like Radford, Winston-Salem State and Stetson. In part, it’s the history. Georgetown basketball was built in McDonough by John Thompson Jr. But, the Hoyas haven’t played in McDonough full time since 1980-81. They never won a title in the building, and Patrick Ewing Sr. played there just five times, only two more than his son. Still, for John Thompson III, McDonough serves as a reminder of the fledgling years of the Hoyas’ reign – and of his childhood. “All the games we play here are special,” he said after Saturday’s game. “At least for me, personally, and maybe selfishly. Georgetown basketball – a lot of the images for me are in this building. Our fans are great, as they have been at Verizon Center. They are right on top of you – and that’s during exams, it’s a tough stretch.” Those fans, more so than the history in the building, make McDonough a special place to play and watch a game. McDonough is not Yankee Stadium – mystique and aura don’t really come into play. But a couple thousand screaming fans do. The crowd is right on top of the players. The place starts to vibrate a little bit when the students hit maximum decibels. The gym is so small that the 2,634 in attendance sounded just as loud as the 9,314 Duke fans that packed into Cameron Indoor last December to watch the Blue Devils beat the Hoyas. Even the biggest games at Verizon Center – and the crowds against Duke two years ago and Pittsburgh last year were incredible – don’t sound quite that loud. “It’s a kind of environment that everyone likes, enjoys playing in,” Jessie Sapp said. “Students were great, they were loud. I don’t think they were ever that loud. My ears started buzzing. For us to win like that, play the way we were playing, that was exciting.” At Verizon Center, even a 59-point victory likely would not stir up the crowd quite like the thrashing at McDonough did. Looking around the gym in the waning minutes of the game, players were grinning widely and kidding around with one another. JT III was getting in on the fun. The crowd meanwhile, seemed just as jubilant, carrying a resounding “We Want Jansen” cheer until the little-used reserve, junior Bryon Jansen, was inserted into the game. It was a great distraction for those still taking exams and a nice reward for those who have finished. Students, don’t take games in McDonough for granted. They’re usually during exam time, which is always tough, so if you feel you need to study, by all means, do so. But if you’ve got a couple hours to spare – and the commitment is far less than it would be to trek downtown to the Phone Booth – go to the game. It is one of just a few opportunities you’ll get to watch your team play on campus in such an intimate arena. We’re not getting an on-campus gym before any of us (or our kids?) graduate. It is not an opportunity to be forsaken. Next month, we’ll start our Big East slate downtown at Verizon Center. The building is a pro arena. It’s huge, has all the amenities including a new jumbotron scoreboard, and can usually accommodate everyone who wants to attend. For most of our Big East home games, it will be loud and host to one of the best game-day atmospheres in college basketball. A full Verizon Center is that good. And we’ll be playing teams far, far better than Radford, which will make for much more competitive basketball. But don’t forget about those McDonough games. There is just something about them you don’t get anywhere else. And I’m not talking about those terribly uncomfortable benches they make you sit on.