The Hoyas took their game to McDonough Gymnasium Saturday night, but their offense was snowed in at Verizon Center.

Old Dominion’s defense stifled Georgetown, as the Monarchs led from wire-to-wire on a snowy night in Washington, D.C., to upset the No. 11 Hoyas, 61-57.

It was the second time in four years that an unranked Old Dominion team has handed a highly-ranked Georgetown team a loss at McDonough. The Monarchs (7-4) beat the Hoyas (8-1) three years ago, giving Georgetown its first loss in the on-campus arena in 24 years.

The Hoyas made a furious comeback after falling behind by as much as 18 in the second half, getting to within 59-57 with 1:17 remaining on the strength of a 13-3 run, but a tip in by junior forward Frank Hassell and a turnover by junior guard Chris Wright ended the rally.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the way my kids started, weathered storms, responded . and came out and really took control of the game,” Old Dominion Head Coach Blaine Taylor said. “It got very entertaining at the end, but we had just enough plays in us to get the job done.”

Sophomore center Greg Monroe led all scorers with 15 points, including two three-pointers, and junior guard Ben Finney had 13 points and five assists for the visitors.

The Monarchs jumped out to a 14-5 lead to start the game and were ahead 32-21 at halftime. As Old Dominion switched back and forth from man-to-man to zone defense, Georgetown turned the ball over 11 times in the first half and failed to find a rhythm on offense.

“Did the slow start hurt us? Absolutely,” Head Coach John Thompson III said. “That was all because of them. Coming out of exams, you fear that, but … they were at the top of their game. They executed, for the most part, at both ends of the floor throughout the game.”

The Hoyas, who shot 30 percent from the field in the first half, improved their shooting in the second half, but they struggled at the free throw line. They hit 14-of-22 free throws for the game and missed four of five chances during a critical seven-minute stretch in the second half, including the front-end of two one-and-one chances.

Asked to identify Georgetown’s biggest problem, Thompson said it was his team’s 18 turnovers.

“[Turnovers are] something that we can control, and we have to start to control that,” he said, adding free throws were also a concern.

“When we didn’t turn it over, we got the shots that we wanted,” Thompson said. “We were getting interior shots as well as the right perimeter shots. They just didn’t go in.”

Though Monroe hit two three-pointers, the Hoyas’ guards – Wright, junior Austin Freeman and sophomore Jason Clark – combined to shoot 3-of-15 from beyond the arc.

The Hoyas, normally dominant in the paint this season, also struggled to score inside. The Monarchs held a 26-22 advantage in the lane and had 14 second-chance points, including the final two of the game that made it a two-possession game.

“We like it physical. We’re a pretty big team,” said the 6-foot-8, 245 pound Hassell. “Even in practice, we always go hard at each other.”

Junior forward Julian Vaughn scored 13 points to go with seven rebounds and four blocks, but he had to sit out much of the first half after picking up two quick offensive fouls. Vaughn also had five turnovers on the night.

Despite a raging snowstorm and final exams, Georgetown students filled McDonough Gymnasium for the only game on campus this year. Announced attendance was 2,400.

Next up for Georgetown will be a noon tip-off on Wednesday against Harvard at Verizon Center. The Crimson are 7-2 with a win over Boston College and a near upset of Connecticut.

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