MEN’S BASKETBALL Georgia Puts Georgetown in Dawg House First Division I Foe Rattles Highly-Touted Hoyas By Mike Hume Hoya Staff Writer
Charles Nailen/The Hoya Freshman guard Drew Hall, shown here in action against Marymount.
The No. 15-ranked Georgetown men’s basketball came into their game against unranked Georgia in the Tip-Off Classic in Springfield, Mass. with an explosive offense that was moving the ball well, shooting the ball well and had averaged 101 points in their two exhibition games and season opener against Marymount.
The team that lost 73-59 to the Bulldogs last night did not even begin to resemble the Hoyas of those first three games.
All the more surprising was that Georgia put up any kind of fight at all, losing three starters from last season’s team and having two valuable recruits fail to pass the NCAA academic eligibility requirements.
Just as in past seasons, Georgetown (1-1) seemed incapable of breaking the zone defense, making slow passes on the perimeter and frequently turning the ball over (totaling 20 for the game) when attempting to pass inside to their main scoring threat, sophomore forward Mike Sweetney. Instead, Georgia (2-0) limited the Hoyas to shots on the perimeter, and cold shooting led to an abysmal 1-for-17 performance from behind the arc.
“We zoned them and invited the three-point shot,” Georgia Head Coach Jim Harrick said. “The more they missed, the more we packed it in.”
And even when the Hoyas did manage to get off a shot, the Bulldogs made sure that Georgetown didn’t get any more chances than necessary, limiting the Hoyas to just 11 offensive rebounds and outrebounding Georgetown 49-36 for the game, despite a tremendous height advantage for the Hoyas. The Georgia players frequently out-positioned the Hoyas and used their speed to beat their larger opponents to the ball.
“I am surprised they beat us the way they did. They out-hustled us and kicked our butts on the boards … I’m very angry,” Esherick said.
Georgetown looked tough on defense, holding Georgia to just 37 percent from the floor, but the Bulldogs got 21 offensive rebounds and frequently turned them into points.
While Georgetown looked shaky in the first half, the Hoyas still kept it close. At the end of the first half, the Hoyas rallied from a 10-point deficit to enter halftime tied at 32. However, the Bulldogs opened the scoring in the second half on a three-pointer by junior guard Ezra Williams, who led the team with a game-high 20 points, and never trailed again.
Georgetown drew even at 37, but a layup by sophomore forward Chris Daniels put the Bulldogs up 39-37, and Georgia led for the remainder of the game. The Bulldogs iced the game late, going on a seven-point run with just under four minutes left to easily pull away for the victory.
The determined Georgia 2-3 zone left the Georgetown offense all but useless. The Hoyas shot just 34 percent for the game. When the Hoyas did get the ball inside, Sweetney was effective, scoring a team-high 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor. Senior point guard Kevin Braswell added 15 points, but shot 0-for-6 from three-point range and shooting 5 of 19 for the game.
“We weren’t successful getting the ball inside, so he was trying to figure out a way to get us a win,” Esherick said of Braswell’s performance. “We’re not going to shoot this badly again all season.”
In their game against the Bulldogs, the Hoyas displayed the same lack of motion offense that doomed them in their final loss of last season in the Sweet Sixteen against Maryland. When they did manage to get the ball inside to either junior center Wesley Wilson or Sweetney they often scored, but Braswell and freshman guards Drew Hall and Tony Bethel frequently failed to do so. Braswell posted a team-high five turnovers.
Despite starting the game at shooting guard, sophomore Gerald Riley played just 11 minutes and failed to score a point while committing three fouls. Instead, Esherick utilized either Hall or Bethel or both in the backcourt, frequently employing a three-guard offense with Braswell playing the small forward position when it became apparent that a larger lineup was not working.
Off the court, freshman Harvey Thomas did not play again for Georgetown and still awaits word of his eligibility from the NCAA. No deadline has been set for the decision.
In all, it was an inauspicious start for Georgetown, who aims to finish at the top of the Big East West Division and be a contender in the NCAA tournament.
The team started last season 16-0 before losing their first game at the hands of Pittsburgh in January.
The Hoyas will attempt to rebound from the loss Wednesday when they return home to face Coastal Carolina at 7 p.m in McDonough Gymnasium.
en’s Basketball Preview