Inauguration Day Basketball Georgetown's game Monday at Villanova raises a question: have the Hoyas ever hosted a game on Inauguration Day?In fact, it's happened three times, most recently in 2001, where Pitt upset #9 Georgetown before 12,109 at MCI Center and ended the Hoyas' 16 game winning streak, its longest since 1985.Post 9/11, that probably won't happen anymore, now that the Nation's Capital becomes a fortress during the inaugural. For this weekend, most roads to Capital One Arena are inaccessible by car through Monday evening and a Metro entrance to Gallery Place is closed for security reasons. Georgetown's next home game is not until January 28. The arena will host a pair of political events Sunday and Monday, owing to the decision by the President-elect to cancel outdoor ceremonies due to weather. "Officials Saturday afternoon could not say how tickets to the event would be redistributed, and if there was a second location for the remaining ticket holders to watch the inauguration from. More information is expected," reported WTTG-5. "At this time, no information has been released about the timing for doors to open at Capital One Arena or Trump's arrival." Eric Smith Honored At Churchill HS Former Georgetown star Eric Smith (C'82) was honored at Winston Churchill HS on Friday, retiring the #44 jersey he wore there.Smith, a 1978 graduate of Churchill, became the first Washington player since 1973 to be first team All-Met in football and basketball, having won Maryland state championships in both football and basketball in his senior year."It took him 47 years to get here," said Les Lombardi, his former coach at Churchill, in an article at Sports Illustrated. "He made me a good coach. We had seven guys from the team here tonight. A real tribute to Eric, because he did a lot for Churchill High School, and he did a lot for the whole area." A three sport letterman for the Bulldogs, Smith turned down a number of football offers to play basketball at Georgetown, but was so highly regarded that he received a tryout offer by the Dallas Cowboys despite not having played football at Georgetown. A quiet leader on and off the court, Smith averaged 7.7 points per game from 1978-1982 and was an All-Big East second team selection as a junior and third team selection as a senior. "Eric Smith's college career set a high standard for those who followed him--a career 49 percent shooter, a leader in assists and steals, and a tenacious but smart defender who fouled out of only five games in his career," wrote the Georgetown Basketball History Project. "Eric Smith was not only a talented player, but he made people around him even better, setting him apart as one of Georgetown's great small forwards of the modern era." Kevin Braswell Hospitalized In Japan Former Georgetown guard Kevin Braswell suffered a heart attack last week and remains in a hospital in Japan, according to a Australian basketball broadcast.Braswell, 45, played at Georgetown from 1998 through 2002 and ranks 10th on the school's career scoring list, first in assists, and first in steals. He has spent the majority of his professional career in Australia and New Zealand as a player and coach. He returned to the U.S. in 2019 to complete his degree at Georgetown and served one year as an assistant coach at Coppin State before taking an offer as associate head coach of the Akita Northern Happinets in the Japanese B League, and is currently the head coach of the Utsunomiya Brex.No further details on Braswell's condition were shared on the broadcast, which was shared on the Georgetown Basketball feed on Twitter.
DePaul 73, Georgetown 68 The DePaul Blue Demons ended a Big East record 39 game conference losing streak in a 73-68 win over Georgetown before 5,311 at Capital One Arena.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
The last Big East win for the Demons came 730 days ago, a 73-72 home win over Xavier on Jan. 18, 2023; its last road game was even more distant, a 68-65 win over Georgetown at Capital One Arena on February 24, 2022.
But the back story to this game was evident at the start: the ongoing injury to Jayden Epps and the recent injury of Thomas Sorber in the St. John's game, keeping both out of action in the game. Down to eight healthy scholarship players, the loss was noticeable. "Our injuries are really catching up to us," said head coach Ed Cooley, but that wasn't the whole story. "We missed opportunities." Following a Drew Fielder basket to open the game, the Hoyas were noncompetitive for much of the first half, missing 12 of its next 13 shots and giving the struggling Blue Demons that most valuable of words for a road team: hope. DePaul carried a 10 point lead midway through the first half thanks to 28 percent shooting by the Hoyas, and zero for seven from three until the final minute of the half. DePaul led by as many as 15 with 2:06 to halftime before Georgetown ended the half on a 6-0 run, but a nine point deficit seemed a best-case scenario in a half where DePaul shot 56 percent from the field and 50 percent from three point range against an often lifeless Hoya offense without Epps and Sorber. However troubling the first half was, its opponent had a run of second half collapses this season, losing three Big East games in overtime, including giving up a 19 point second half lead to Seton Hall and losing a four point lead on #7 Marquette with 50 seconds remaining. If DePaul was going to win this game, they would have to earn it. DePaul opened the second half with a turnover, a sign of things to come as Georgetown slowly, perhaps too slowly, ratcheted up the pressure on the Blue Demons. A Drew Fielder basket to to open the second half narrowed the score to 39-30 but in a repeat of the first half, the Hoyas missed five of its next six, allowing the Demons to push the lead back to 16 at the first media time out, 49-33. Both teams began to pick up the scoring pace, shooting 5 for 7 for each of them, but DePaul still maintained a double digit lead midway through the second half. Defensive intensity by the Hoyas forced the Blue Demons into shots late in the shot clock, leading DU to shoot one for its next six and cough up four turnovers in a four minute stretch, with baskets by Drew Fielder and Curtis Williams to close the margin to seven, 55-48, with 9:48 to play. This was the first of three gut checks for the Blue Demons and they answered the call each time. After Malik Mack soared for a block on a drive from DePaul's Layden Blocker, the Demons turned over the ball over following an errant Fielder three but survived a three point miss from Caleb Williams and an alley-oop dunk missed by Jordan Burks, eventually getting back to back jumpers from C.J. Gunn to push its lead back to 11, 62-51, with 5:52 remaining. Baskets by Caleb Williams and Malik Mack brought the Hoyas back to seven with 5:01 left when DePaul guard Conor Enright fell to the floor with what appeared to be a shoulder injury. A video review tagged Fielder with a dead ball technical foul for plowing over Enright, with free throws pushing the DePaul lead back to nine at 64-55. DePaul's luck was visibly running out, however. Turnovers on two of its next three possessions and a pair of missed layups haunted the Blue Demons, but it was not until Curtis Williams drove the lane for a layup to close to 64-60 with 2:55 remaining that the late evening crowd began to embrace the comeback. Late game mistakes befell both teams. On the next possession, Blocker lost the ball at midcourt, but Mack gave up a double dribble on a inside possession. DePaul split a pair of free throws at the 2:31 mark, 65-60, but Georgetown picked up a big offensive rebound from Curtis Williams that fed Mack for a three, 65-63. DePaul continued to stumble to the finish: coach Chris Holtmann called a time out with seven seconds in the shot clock after the Demons had nearly lost the ball twice on the key possession. On the ensuing play, Gunn stepped out of bounds receiving the inbound pass.
"Players win games, like Troy's three. You can diagram as much as you want, but at the end of the day, players have to step up and win games." |
St. John's 63, Georgetown 58
For a third consecutive game, a promising first half for the Georgetown Hoyas evaporated as a series of defensive stops propelled the St. John's Redmen to a hard fought 63-58 win at Madison Square Garden.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
St. John's was playing without starting guard Deivon Smith and it showed early. Georgetown opened with an 8-2 lead but much of the first half was a standoff between two poor shooting teams. Seven minutes in, the Hoyas were 5 for 15 from the field, the Redmen 1 for 9.Midway through the half, Georgetown led 19-5 before St. John's climbed back in the game, with a pair of threes that closed the margin to 25-15. The Hoyas shot 11 of 13 from the field down the stretch and took a 37-27 lead into the break, outrebounding the Redmen 26-10 and shooting 50 percent from the field overall.
Two quick baskets for the Hoyas opened the second half as Georgetown enjoyed a 41-27 lead 52 seconds into the period. The Redmen promptly locked down on defense and what had been a five man Georgetown scoring rotation soon devolved to two.
St. John's climbed back into the game with an unlikely weapon: the three point shot. Averaging only 29 percent from three in Big East play entering the game, two thee pointers in a 54 second span closed to 41-35 two minutes into th second half. SJU shot 5 for seven over a stretch which saw the Redmen outscore the Hoyas 12-2, with six points from Kadary Richmond after a scoreless first half. A Richmond layup brought SJU to 43-41, followed by an Aaron Scott three to put the redmen up 44-43.Off a Georgetown time out, Mack stepped out of bounds, whereupon Zuby Ejiofor drove inside, 46-43, a 19-2 run.
Georgetown staged a mini-comeback that ended suddenly. Two field goals by Peavy and one by Drew Fielder regained the lead at 50-46 with 9:265 to play, but two a third and fourth foul on Sorber within 21 seconds of each other stalled out the Hoyas, with no field goals over the following five minutes. St. John's wasn't much better, shooting 33 percent, but an aggressive effort on the board flipped the script from the first half and gave the Redmen multiple opportunities to retake the lead. The two teams shot a combined 1 for 14 entering the final five minutes of play, with free throws allowing SJU a 54-50 lead with 4:31 remaining. Georgetown's concerns were apparent just 10 seconds earlier, when Sorber suffered an elbow injury that had him sent to the medical area for treatment.
Georgetown trailed 56-52 with 3:52 remaining, but Mack's subsequent shot was blocked. He recovered for a three at the 2:49 mark, 56-55, but missed a three point attempt with 2:22 remaining and watched as reserve guard Simeon Wilcher, 1 for 7 on the evening, hit a three to put the Redmen up 59-55, and they were not challenged thereafter.
Georgetown's second half numbers were awful: 9 for 28 from field, with 7 of the 23 belonging to either Mack or Peavy. Thomas Sorber got one field goal attempt. GU was outrebounded 28-18 after halftime and was beaten despite St. John's shooting just 35 percent in the second half--eight three pointers, four in each half, proved timely. Georgetown managed one three after halftime and three overall, tying a season low.
Three numbers told the story of this game: 19, 26, and 37.
The 19 refers to the number of turnovers, which contributed to 20 St. John's points on the evening. This is the fourth time in the last six games where Georgetown has surrendered 19 turnovers, the most of any Big East school. The 21 refers to the total number of points scored after halftime, now averaging only 26 points per half in its last three losses. The 37 corresponds to the number of shots collectively taken by Mack and Peavy, which was quickly rendered ineffective by the St. John's defense. The two shot a combined 7 for 23 in the second half; the remainder of the team was a combined 2 for 6 after halftime.
The health of Jayden Epps and Thomas Sorber are major takeaways following this game. Epps played only 10 minutes and reinjured his leg late in the first half, according to reports. Sorber eventually returned late in the game but the elbow will bear watching.
"We'll bounce back," said Georgetown coach Ed Cooley in post-game remarks. "We're not very healthy right now. We haven't had the same lineup since December 14, when we played Syracuse. Not an excuse, but we're having a tough time scoring the ball right now."
The win brings St. John's to its best Big East start in 26 years; conversely, the loss was Georgetown's eighth consecutive to St. John's since 2020.
The Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
Mack 37 4-12 1-5 2-3 4 6 1 13
Epps 10 1-5 0-1 2-2 3 0 0 4
Peavy 40 8-18 1-2 2-4 7 1 4 21
Fielder 36 2-2 0-1 0-0 12 0 4 4
Sorber 32 2-3 0-1 1-1 10 1 4 5
Reserves:
Ca. Williams 15 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 0 3 0
Cu. Williams 24 4-4 1-4 0-0 1 1 0 11
Burks 6 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0
Team Rebounds 5
Injured: Halaifonua, Moses
DNP: Fort, McKenna, Montgomery, Asadallah,
Van Raaphorst, Diouf, Mulready
TOTALS 200 21-44 3-14 7-10 44 9 17 58
Tuesday's game marked the 125th game in the series between Georgetown and St. John's, begun in 1909. Here's a breakdown by decade.
| Home | Away | Neutral | Totals | |
| 1909-10 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-1 | |
| 1910-20 | 3-1 | 1-4 | 4-5 | |
| 1920-30 | 1-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | |
| 1930-40 | 0-3 | 0-2 | 0-5 | |
| 1940-50 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 1-3 | |
| 1950-60 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | |
| 1960-70 | 0-3 | 0-2 | 0-5 | |
| 1970-80 | 3-2 | 1-4 | 1-0 | 5-6 |
| 1980-90 | 4-6 | 9-5 | 2-0 | 14-11 |
| 1990-00 | 5-3 | 3-7 | 8-10 | |
| 2000-10 | 5-1 | 3-6 | 8-7 | |
| 2010-20 | 9-1 | 6-7 | 15-8 | |
| 2020-25 | 1-3 | 0-5 | 1-8 | |
| Totals | 30-24 | 24-44 | 3-0 | 57-68 |
Attendance: 17,168
After a decade of broadcasts which skated gingerly past the discussion of empty seats at Capital One Arena, Saturday was not that day.
In fact, the attendance was not simply dropped into the box score but was enthusiastically announced during the second half by Fox announcer Tim Brando, himself a veteran of more than a few sparsely attended games at Capital One Arena. The game drew 17,168, the largest crowd to any home game since a December 2, 2015 game versus Syracuse, the second largest crowd of any size since GU's last sellout of the downtown arena in March 2013, and the best student turnout of the season.Coupled with the announced crowd of 3,827 who attended the Georgetown women's game versus #7 Connecticut at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Southeast DC, this is conceivably the largest single day turnout across Georgetown athletics in Washington since the 1941 football home opener, which saw the Hoyas defeat Ole Miss 16-6 before 25,000 at Griffith Stadium.
Great environment. Let’s go Hoyas! pic.twitter.com/K3ikQTNsrs
— Jay K (@spectac24) January 11, 2025
The energy and narrative is changing in our nation’s capital.
— Martin Bahar (@MShoneBahar) January 11, 2025
Ed Cooley and the Georgetown Hoyas have Dan Hurley and UCONN at home today at @CapitalOneArena. Two of the best coaches in the game.
16,000+ expected ?? pic.twitter.com/zFSi4RC1qU
Connecticut 68, Georgetown 60
An 17-2 run to open the second half led the #9-ranked Connecticut Huskies to a 68-60 win over Georgetown at Capital One Arena.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
In a season with only three Saturday home games on the conference schedule, this was promoted as something special, and lived up to the advance billing. A crowd of 17,168 arrived early in a city that doesn't often do this, and welcomed the teal-clad Hoyas as they entered the court to battle the Huskies, which had won eight straight over GU since rejoining the Big East in 2020.
"Moments before Saturday afternoon's tip-off against No. 9 Connecticut, the energy throughout Capital One Arena was unmistakable, underscoring the magnitude of what an upset of the two-time defending national champion could represent for the rebuilding Hoyas," wrote the Washington Post.
"I thought the building, walking through the tunnel today, was just an awesome feeling with where the Georgetown program is and being able to play a great, big game on the road," said UConn coach Dan Hurley.
The game opened with a big-fight feel. Thomas Sorber scored two baskets on consecutive possessions, Malik Mack drove inside for a basket, and Micah Peavy picked up a steal and a dunk. Drew Fielder sank an open three to wow the crowd and put the Hoyas up early, 11-5.
Micah Peavy bringing the house down for @GeorgetownHoops on the steal and slam! ?? pic.twitter.com/Apg3Gw5Sw0
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 11, 2025
UConn's defensive adjustments largely neutralized this trio for large portions of the game thereafter, as they shot a combined 2 for 13 the rest of the game. The Huskies opened the game 2 for 8 and trailed by six at the 12:47 mark before its offense kicked into gear.
A three pointer by Solomon Ball brought UConn to within three at the media time out, 13-10. Layups on its next three possessions brought UConn the lead at 17-13, and back to back threes by Jayden Ross and Aidan Mahaney pushed its lead to 23-17, scoring seven field goals in seven possessions. A jumper by Alex Karaban extended the lead to 25-17, a 12-4 run, before the Hoyas reversed the momentum.
Much of the Hoyas's rally took place during a period where Sorber sat with two early fouls. He returned midway in the half, with a free throw and a layup to bring Georgetown to 25-20 at the five minute mark. Consecutive UConn turnovers and a pair of free throws by Mack closed to 25-22. The Hoyas were within two on a Curtis Williams three, before the Huskies sank back to back threes, 33-25. A late three by Jayden Epps brought the Hoyas to four at the break, 35-31, shooting 44 percent from the field but allowing the Huskies six threes and 51 percent shooting overall.
Even down four, there was a lot of hopeful signs for the Hoyas, including no turnovers allowed in the final 10 minutes of the first half. A good second half start was essential for Georgetown, but Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley was having none of it. The Huskies turned up its defensive intensity immediately after the break and the young Hoyas were unprepared for what followed.
UConn opened the half with a Hassan Diarra layup, then forced consecutive turnovers by Malik Mack and Jayden Epps to go up 10 just 74 seconds into the half, 41-31, with Georgetown head coach Ed Cooley noting after the game that this was the moment from which Georgetown never recovered.
The Hoyas missed its first three shots of the half, and more to follow. Following a Sorber free throw, UConn went up 11 on a Solomon Ball jumper, up 14 when Ross fed Karaban for a top of the center three, and up 17 following a Sorber turnover when Diarra spotted Ross for an alley-oop dunk, 50-33. Just ten seconds later, Diarra picked off Epps at midcourt and fed Samson Johnson for a layup, 52-33, with Georgetown having yet to score a field goal.
Alex Karaban finished with 19 points and 6 rebounds as #9 UConn beat Georgetown 68-60 at Capital One Arena in Washington.
— Rockford Maverick (@RockfordMav) January 12, 2025
pic.twitter.com/JGwb7OUupe
"[It's] something we talked about since the summer. We've got to take it head on and exceed their physicality. We know it's the Big East and we've got to play through physicality, and we're going to get better at that for sure."
--Georgetown guard Malik Mack
As coaching goes, the next five minutes was vintage Hurley: an offensive rebound and put back, 55-39. A Mack turnover was converted into a Karaban three, 58-39. A Peavy turnover saw Tarris Reed set up Karaban for his third three of three half, 61-39. A Curtis Williams turnover at the 8:44 mark saw Karaban return the favor, setting up Reed for a dunk, 64-41. At the eight minute media timeout, GU was 2 for 11 from the field with eight turnovers.
If this was 2022, or 2023, or even 2024, the Hoyas would have folded its collective tent and watched the Huskies win by 30 or more. Over the prior three seasons, Georgetown had given up eight home losses of 20 or more points, including an 89-64 loss to the Huskies a year ago. Instead, these Hoyas made a statement of its own in the last eight minutes that it was ready to play to the end.
"What I am very, very proud of, is we got down pretty big, and we continued to fight and chip at that lead. I'm very proud of our men for that."
--Georgetown coach Ed Cooley
Individual matchups were all in the favor of the Huskies in this game. Malik Mack was overwhelmed by the defensive prowess of Hassan Diarra, shooting 3 for 12 with three second half turnovers. Without a healthy Jayden Epps (playing only six minutes after4r halftime), Mack was held in check at both ends of the court. A similar story was seen for Micah Peavy, held to 5 for 12 from the field, with one assist and five turnovers. Defensively, Georgetown struggled against Solomon Ball and Alex Karaban, who combined for seven threes and 34 combined points, with just three turnovers between them. Centers Samson Johnson and Tarris Reed combined for 10 rebounds and five of UConn's nine blocks, the second most allowed on the Hoyas since the end of the 2021-22 season.
Karaban played all 40 minutes, with 19 points (on 7-10 shooting), four assists and two blocks.
"This is the winningest player in college basketball, one of the greatest players in UConn history," Hurley said after the game. "We knew we'd get this type of response from him today, because this guy is one of the best players in college basketball."
While Connecticut proved the better team, the Hoyas definitely left some points on the able. Eight missed free throws proved painful, as were allowing 22 points off 15 GU turnovers. Shooting 33 percent in the second half, the Hoyas actually shot better from outside. Its 4 for 16 from inside the arc was awful, and were regularly denied inside. Sorber was less aggressive inside while in foul trouble, and UConn took full advantage: holding Georgetown to two dunks and four layups after halftime and neither from Sorber, who was 0-5 in the second half.
Curtis Williams led the Hoyas with 15 points off the bench, followed by 14 from Micah Peavy before fouling out with 3:26 remaining. The rest of the team shot a combined 10 for 31.
The Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
Mack 37 2-7 1-5 2-3 5 3 2 9
Peavy 35 5-11 0-1 4-8 5 1 5 14
Ca. Williams 20 0-2 1-2 0-0 1 1 0 3
Fielder 20 0-1 1-1 0-0 2 0 0 3
Sorber 34 3-8 0-1 3-6 10 4 2 9
Reserves:
Epps 10 0-2 1-1 0-0 1 0 0 3
Cu. Williams 22 1-2 3-4 4-4 2 1 1 15
Burks 14 1-1 0-0 2-2 1 1 2 4
Mulready 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 2 0 0
Team Rebounds 3
Injured: Halaifonua, Moses
DNP: Fort, McKenna, Montgomery, Asadallah,
Van Raaphorst, Diouf
TOTALS 200 12-34 7-15 15-23 31 13 12 60
Marquette 74, Georgetown 66
In its best 37 minutes of the 2024-25 season, the Georgetown Hoyas were every bit the match for the #7 Marquette Warriors Tuesday night before falling late, 74-66, at Fiserv Forum.
POST-GAME ARTICLES
For a second time in three games, the Hoyas were without Jayden Epps from the earlier knee injury suffered versus Seton Hall. Without Epps, defensive pressure would be placed on Malik Mack to run the GU offense and the experience of the Warriors was in evidence early in this game. The Hoyas began the game shooting 1 for 7 from the field and 4 of its first 12. Marquette led by seven at 15-8 six minutes into the first half when Georgetown switched to a matchup zone and saw a rapid change in fortunes. Over the succeeding eight minutes, Marquette shot just 3 for 12 while the younger Hoyas stunned the 15,756 at Fiserv Forum with one of its best runs all season.The turnaround began with a flash: a Peavy steal and a basket, a Mack free throw from a technical foul, and a Sorber tip-in, all in a run of 33 seconds. A thee pointer by Jordan Burks gave GU a 19-17 lead, but Burks mouthed off to the adjacent Marquette bench and was saddled with a technical foul of his own. It didn't halt the Hoyas' momentum, however.
The Warriors continued to struggle to get good shots and its defense was unusually lax, giving the Hoyas ample opportunity to increase its lead. Field goals by Curtis Williams and Micah Peavy put the Hoyas up 23-18, extended by six straight from Peavy, 29-18, and a Mack jumper to go up 31-18 with 6:03 to halftime: a 23-3 run on the #7 team in the nation, with Georgetown shooting 10 for 12 during the run. A Chase Ross three ended a 14-0 Georgetown run, 31-21. The Hoyas led by as many as 14 at 35-21 before the Warriors closed to 38-29 at the half, shooting a season low 29 percent at the break.
The momentum Marquette carried into halftime was apparent from the opening of the second half. The Warriors scored the first seven points of to cut the deficit to 38-36 three minutes into the half, aided by game-low shooting by the Hoyas, opening 1 for 8 from the field. A 6-0 run capped by a David Joplin three pointer gave MU its first lead since early in the first half, 45-42, while baskets by Mack and Drew Fielder rescued the Hoyas from a frigid 1 for 14 start and retook the lead at 48-47.
The story of the second half was Chase Ross. The 6-5 guard scored 17 of his game high 27 points after halftime on 6 for 7 shooting, and defenders Malik Mack and Caleb Williams were largely unable to contain him. Ross didn't completely take over the game, however, as the Hoyas continued to keep the game close.
Neither team led by more than four points for the next eight minutes. Threes from Curtis Williams and Malik Mack returned the lead to GU, 58-56 with 7:53 to play, answered by a Ross layup to tie the score at 58. Free throws by Sorber tied the score at 60 with 4:26 remaining before Stevie Mitchell added two at the foul line following Mack's third foul, 62-60, with 4:06 to play. A David Joplin jumper was blocked by Sorber, and Mack found Fielder in the corner on its next possession, where the sophomore shook off a rough day from the field with a big three pointer to give Georgetown a 63-62 lead with 3:15 to play. Any best-case scenario entering this game would have hoped the Hoyas to just be close heading into the final three minutes, and that's just where they were.
Fielder's basket was Georgetown's last field goal for nearly three minutes, as the more experienced Warriors went to work at the foul line and the Hoyas stumbled late.
On the next series, Sorber blocked a layup attempt by Kam Jones to preserve its lead, but Fielder was picked off by Marquette center Ben Gold, and a pair of David Joplin free throws returned the lead to Marquette with 2:19 remaining, 64-63. Peavy split a pair of free throws to tie the score 10 seconds later, but Stevie Mitchell blew past Mack for a layup, 66-64, with 1:48 remaining.
Both teams missed three point attempts heading into the final minute, whereupon a whistle was called with 46 seconds as Ross attempted a steal from Mack. What was originally called a foul on Ross was actually a foul on Mack, and the video confirmed it as well, giving Ross two more at the line, 68-64. A moving screen called on Fielder and a Mack turnover that followed ended any serious hopes for a comeback, as the Warriors finished the game out at the line, where they shot 10 for 10 in the final 2:19.
The final does not detract from some impressive defensive efforts by the Hoyas.
Marquette's Kam Jones entered the game averaging 20 points a game in Big East play. After going 2-3 to start the game, Micah Peavy and the Georgetown defense held him to 0-3 for the remainder of the first half and 4 for 14 for the game, a season low. The Hoyas forced a season high 13 Marquette turnovers and outrebounded the Warriors 22-12 in the first half and 38-32 overall. The strong defensive effort couldn't overcome MU's defense, which forced 16 steals on the Hoyas and 19 GU turnovers overall, accounting for 20 of MU's 74 points on the evening.
Malik Mack led the Hoyas with 18 points, albeit with six turnovers. Thomas Sorber had 11 points and 13 rebounds, but Marquette kept him out of the paint and limited him to just two shots after halftime. For its part, Georgetown shot just 31 percent after halftime (9 for 29) but an even worse mark inside the arc, where it missed many close-in shots and was just 5 for 18 from two point range after the break. A total of 21 Georgetown fouls yielded 23 of 27 from the line for Marquette, where they were 17 for 18 after halftime.
The win elevated Marquette to 4-0 in Big East play for the first time in 15 years.
"Not having Epps is a major, major blow to us," said head coach Ed Cooley in post-game comments. "No excuse, because we were right there, but if you look at the overall picture of where our team is, how hard these men fought today, I couldn't be more proud."
Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
Mack 39 4-10 3-7 1-2 2 5 4 18
Peavy 40 5-11 0-1 3-4 6 4 4 13
Ca. Williams 26 0-1 0-2 0-0 5 0 5 0
Fielder 19 1-4 1-2 1-1 5 1 2 6
Sorber 35 3-5 0-0 5-5 13 3 4 11
Reserves:
Cu. Williams 26 2-2 2-5 0-0 3 0 0 10
Burks 15 1-3 2-2 0-0 2 0 2 8
Team Rebounds 2
Injured: Epps, Halaifonua, Moses
DNP: Fort, McKenna, Montgomery, Asadallah,
Van Raaphorst, Diouf, Mulready
TOTALS 200 16-36 8-19 10-12 38 13 21 66
Broadnax Retires From Coaching
Former Georgetown basketball player Horace Broadnax (B'86) announced a mid-season retirement Monday evening as head coach of Savannah State University.
POST-GAME ARTICLES
"The experience here has been very rewarding and I am extremely excited for my future as well as the future of the program," he said.In a 27 year coaching career which began at Valencia (FL) Junior College and included stops at Bethune Cookman and Savannah State, Broadnax had a cumulative record of 338-428 and 309-397 at Savannah State, inclusive of wins vacated during two periods where the school was cited for failure to monitor its athletic certification process. He took over at SSU in 2004 following an 0-28 season, leading the Tigers to a MEAC regular season title and a NIT bid in 2011-12. The school downgraded to Division II after the 2018-19 season.
A late evening announcement of this kind is unusual, and the Tigers' 5-6 record to date is not, on its own, a harbinger of trouble. If Broadnax was forced out, it wasn't noted as such.
In a statement, SSU athletic director Opio Mashariki said "We thank Coach Broadnax for his leadership of the men's basketball program here at Savannah State. I have immense respect and gratitude for everything Coach Broadnax has done, we congratulate him on his retirement and wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors." Broadnax's bio is no longer on the school's web site.
The Florida state player of the year in 1982, Broadnax played four seasons at Georgetown, averaging 5.8 points a game. He earned a law degree from Florida State in 1992 and remains a practicing attorney.
AP Top 25: One Vote
For the first time since 2021, Georgetown received a single vote in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
The vote came from Johnny Congdon, sports reporter at WBMA-TV in Birmingham, AL.That's not enough to be ranked (Georgetown's last Top 25 ranking was the week of March 16, 2015), its but first "also receiving votes" recognition since March 15, 2021. Marquette and Connecticut remain in the Top 25, while St. John's (27 votes), Georgetown (1), and Xavier (1) are also noted.
Georgetown 69, Xavier 63
A season high 26 points from Malik Mack led the Georgetown Hoyas to its most prominent win of the Ed Cooley era, holding off Xavier 69-63 before 6,640 at Capital One Arena.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
The Hoyas never trailed in this game, thanks in part to an icy start by the visiting Musketeers. Xavier opened the game shooting 1 for 11 as GU took an early 11-4 lead, but battled back in the game with the returning Zach Freemantle, who had been sidelined with an injury following the Dec. 14 game versus Cincinnati. From a 19-6 deficit midway in the first half, Xavier fought back to close to 26-24 in the final two minutes of the first half, but back to back baskets by Micah Peavy brought the Hoyas to 30-24 at halftime, fortunate that Xavier had struggled from outside, shooting 1 for 10 at the break.Free throws would be a running subplot in the second half. Xavier closed to 35-32 at the first media time out of the second half, but Xavier coach Sean Miller decided to take up an argument with the officials, costing Xavier two foul shots on a technical foul. Following the change in possession, Sorber missed a three but Caleb Williams scored an alert offensive rebound that resulted in a jumper and a 39-32 lead.
Down 12 midway in the second half, the Musketeers began to find favor at the three point line, with a run of long range baskets over a three minute period to narrow the margin to six, 53-47. Malik Mack answered with nine straight points as the Hoyas maintained its own momentum.
"Our goal is to try to get better each and every game. I thought we really, really grew up today."
--Georgetown head coach Ed Cooley
Following the Fielder miss at the line, Jerome Hunter split a pair at the line, 58-57. Following a collision that briefly shook up Georgetown's Thomas Sorber and Xavier's Ryan Conwell, Sorber recovered for two free throws, 60-57. Swain forced a turnover and drove for a basket and a foul at the 2:52 market, but missed the free throw, 60-59, at the 2:52 mark. It was as close as the X-men would get thereafter.
On Georgetown's next possession, Peavy drove inside for a layup, 62-59. Off a missed three from McKnight, Mack fed a driving Sorber inside, 64-59. Xavier missed six of its final seven attempts to end the game.
The Hoyas needed every bit of its starters in this game, who combined for 90 of a possible 100 minutes in the second half. Mack scored 20 of his 26 points after halftime, and Caleb Williams had six of his nine rebounds after the break. Jayden Epps played four minutes in the first half and did not score.A lot of people were hating on Ed Cooley last season and are now quiet about Georgetown’s start
— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) January 4, 2025
If the season ended today, The Hoyas are in the Tournament, 2 seasons after being the worst HM team in the country
He is ABSOLUTLEY one of the best
pic.twitter.com/zvKJiiQlsg
Caleb Williams had 7 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block in Georgetown’s win over Xavier. #HoyaSaxa | #Hoyas pic.twitter.com/G5Zf0lfpZF
— The NBS Sports Hour (@NBSSportsHour) January 4, 2025
Georgetown shot 50 percent from the field after halftime and 44 percent overall, but its defense is the story of this one. The Hoyas held the nation's #7-ranked team in three point shooting percentage to 26 percent on 5 for 19 from the field, and held a team with 36 assists over its two prior games to just eight tonight.
Freemantle's return was a welcome development for the Musketeers. He finished with 16 points and seven rebounds to lead all Xavier scorers, and helped limit Sorber to just six points after halftime. Dailyn Swain scored 10 of his 11 points in the second half, but that missed free throw late kept the Musketeers from tying the score.
Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
Mack 35 5-7 3-9 7-9 2 3 3 26
Peavy 39 7-12 0-2 1-2 10 2 4 15
Ca. Williams 36 2-4 1-2 0-1 9 1 4 7
Fielder 27 2-3 0-1 1-4 7 0 4 5
Sorber 35 5-10 0-2 2-3 5 2 2 12
Reserves:
Epps 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 0 0
Cu. Williams 10 0-2 0-2 1-2 1 2 0 1
Burks 13 0-0 0-0 3-4 4 0 5 3
Team Rebounds 1
Injured: Halaifonua, Moses
DNP: Fort, McKenna, Montgomery, Asadallah,
Van Raaphorst, Diouf, Mulready
TOTALS 200 21-38 4-18 15-25 40 11 22 69