Charles Nailen/The Hoya Georgetown eked out a win over West Virginia on ESPN last night.
This year, almost nothing has come easily for the Georgetown men’s basketball team.
On Monday, the Hoyas almost let another game slip through their fingers on the road against West Virginia, squandering a 14-point second half lead before holding off the Mountaineers 69-67 in organtown.
“All I was thinking was `Not again. Not again,'” junior guard Gerald Riley told The Washington Post, referring to the Hoyas’ struggles in holding leads this season.
Despite persistent West Virginia defense and lackluster closing-minute offense, this time the Hoyas were able to seal the victory with clutch free-throw shooting.
Georgetown (14-12, 6-9 Big East) clinched a spot in next week’s Big East Tournament with its victory over West Virginia (13-14, 4-11 Big East). The victory also guarantees that Georgetown will finish .500 or above, making them eligible for the National Invitation Tournament.
The Hoyas were led by junior guard Gerald Riley’s 23 points on 5-of-10 shooting from three-point range, while All-American candidate Mike Sweetney added 18 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks in 37 minutes of play.
Georgetown led for the bulk of the game after jumping out to a 13-2 lead early in the first half. The Mountaineers were able to keep the Hoyas from pulling away and stormed back into the game with a 10-0 run in the last five minutes of the second half. West Virginia used an intense 1-3-1 defense to force a slew of turnovers from Georgetown’s backcourt, and the Hoyas did not make a field goal over the last six minutes of the game.
Sophomore guard Drew Hall knocked a West Virginia lob pass out of bounds at half court, allowing the Mountaineers to set up for a potential buzzer-beater. West Virginia forward Drew Schifino missed a last-second three-pointer that would have given the Mountaineers the victory and the Hoyas escaped the Mountaineer state with a rare road victory.
The Hoyas made six of eight free throws in the final minute of play to thwart the Mountaineer comeback attempt.
In his last two games, Sweetney is averaging 24.5 points, 17.5 rebounds, six blocks and 40 minutes of playing time.
For much of the game, Georgetown seemed to have a victory comfortably in hand, leading by as many as 14 five minutes into the second half. But the Mountaineers never let the Hoyas get out of reach and forced the second close game of the season between the two teams. On Jan. 12, Georgetown edged West Virginia 84-82 in overtime after sophomore guard Tony Bethel hit a desperation three-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation. Georgetown led by as many as 11 in that game before West Virginia captured the lead.
Schifino led the Mountaineers in scoring on the night with 21 points, while guard Johannes Herber added 12 points in 40 minutes of play. West Virginia fell into last place in the Big East West division with the loss. The last place team in each of the Big East’s two divisions does not qualify for the Big East Tournament in New York City. West Virginia would win any tiebreaker over sixth-place Rutgers because the Mountaineers defeated the Scarlet Knights twice this season. West Virginia will earn a trip to New York if they win their final game of the year against Virginia Tech and Rutgers loses either of its two remaining games against St. John’s or Syracuse.
Close games have been more the rule than the exception this year for the Hoyas. Since the beginning of Big East Conference play, Georgetown has won three games by two points, lost three games by five points or less (including a loss to non-conference foe UCLA) and lost three games in overtime.
The Hoyas will close out their regular season schedule at home against No. 16 Notre Dame at home on Saturday. The Fighting Irish have lost two straight to Connecticut and Rutgers and face No. 12 Syracuse at home tonight. Tip-off between the Hoyas and the Irish is at 4 p.m. at MCI Center.
