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Georgetown Basketball: March 2000 News Archive

California 60, Georgetown 49 3/21/00

If there is one stat that tells the story of the second round game versus California, it's the box score of Kevin Braswell. After coming off a career high of 40 points against Virginia, here's his box score on Tuesday:


            min  2FG  3FG    FT   REB A PF PTS
Virginia     49 7-15 4-10 14-21   4  5  3   40
California   38  0-5  1-7   0-0   7  4  2    3

Braswell's result was emblematic of the entire Georgetown team, which shot 27.7 percent in a 60-49 loss to California in the second round of the NIT. Despite multiple substitutions by coach Craig Esherick, none seemed to give the Hoyas the offensive spark to take control of the game.

The Hoyas kept things close in the first half, trailing 28-26 despite a run of 3 for 19 shooting in the half and 9 for 30 shooting overall. Any opportunity to gain momentum in the second was short-lived, as the Hoyas opened 1 for 12 and did not connect on their second field goal until 12:10 in the game.

Despite such woes, poor execution by the Bears (18-14) allowed the Hoyas to stay close. Georgetown actually got within one at 41-40 with 8:06 to play, but consecutive GU turnovers gave Cal the opportunity to build its lead to 47-40. By the 2:52 mark it was 54-45, and UC never looked back. As bad as Georgetown's shooting was in the first half, it was even worse in the second half, with Georgetown connecting on only 9 of 35 shots. For Cal, Sean Lampley scored 21 on 8 for 11 shooting, with 15 second half points.

No one shot well for the Hoyas. Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje was coming off his ongoing foot injury and was ineffective (24 minutes, 3 points). Demetrius Hunter turned an ankle in practice and played only five minutes, failing to score. Anthony Perry and Lee Scruggs were the Hoyas' leading scorers, but the two combined to go 8 for 25, many of which were close-in shots. The Georgetown starting five combined to miss 34 of 46 shots, 15 for 19 from long range. While not their worst offensive output of the season (that being an 18 for 68 effort at Miami on February 7), it was close enough.

On the boards, the Hoyas had 20 offensive rebounds to Cal's 6, three of which were during a single series for the Bears. The rebound edge was of little use, however, as GU missed opportunities from both short and long range that could have made it a closer game at the end.

Here's a copy of the box score:


                 fg    ft    rb
          min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Starters:
Burton     24   1-5   1-1   1-2  1  1    3
Scruggs    23  4-13   2-2   4-8  2  5   11
Watkins    14   2-4   0-0   1-4  1  0    4
Perry      28  4-12   2-2   2-4  2  1   12
Braswell   38  1-12   0-0   2-7  4  2    3
Reserves:
Hunter      5   0-2   0-0   0-0  0  0    0
Hillier     3   1-1   0-0   0-0  0  1    2
Hester     24   3-9   0-0  7-10  0  5    7
Freeman     3   0-1   0-0   0-0  1  1    0
Gibson     14   1-2   2-4   1-2  0  0    4
Boumtje-B. 24   1-4   1-2   2-4  0  2    3
TOTALS        18-65  8-11 20-41 11 18   49

Percentages: FG-.277, FT-.727. 3-Point Goals:
5-24, .208 (Burton 0-3, Scruggs 1-4, Perry 2-5,
Braswell 1-7, Hunter 0-2, Hester 1-3). Team
rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 2 (Scruggs, Perry).
Turnovers: 16 (Perry 5, Braswell 4, Scruggs 3,
Boumtje Boumtje, Burton, Hester, Hillier).
Steals: 7 (Braswell 2, Hester 2, Boumtje Boumtje,
Gibson, Watkins).

Some post-game coverage links are found below.

Georgetown 115, Virginia 111 (3 OT) 3/15/00

March 15-Earlier this evening, Georgetown and Virginia competed in the greatest toe-to-toe battle in NIT basketball history, broadcast nationally on ESPN for over three hours. Here's a recap of a true team effort which stands alongside the greatest games in Georgetown's athletic history:

The First Half: Georgetown started at a decided disadvantage. Center Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje was sidelined with a foot injury and Victor Samnick was still out from injury, leaving the Hoyas with only nine scholarship players. The Hoyas had every reason to be flat coming into the game, and it showed early. Kevin Braswell started 1 for 6 and missed his first two free throws while Lee Scruggs had two early fouls.

On the other side of the ledger, Virginia was scoring at will, inside and outside. Virginia went on a 14-0 run, and GU might have been run off the court had Demetrius Hunter not connected on four three pointers in the first half. Georgetown was able to tie the score at 29 with 6:36 to play. Still, Virginia surged late and took a comfortable nine point lead at intermission, the most first half points given up by Georgetown all year. Kevin Braswell, with only eight points, had to step it up. Score: Virginia 48, Georgetown 39.

The Second Half: Five minutes into the second half, Virginia had built its lead to 58-43. Out of nowhere, the Hoyas pulled together a 17-2 run on the favored Cavaliers to tie the score at 60-all with under 11 minutes to play. U.Va. took the lead with 7:48 to play and watched as three Hoyas-Hunter, Freeman, and Watkins--foul out late. Amazingly, Virginia's shooting failed them, missing six of seven shots in the final 3:39 of regulation.

Down four with less than two minutes to play, Nat Burton connected on two free throws with 1:48 to play. After stopping the Wahoos on the next possession, Anthony Perry drove to a layup to tie the score with 1:14 to play. In the final moments of the second half, Virginia drove to the basket but was blocked by Lee Scruggs with less than two seconds remaining, and Nat Burton's 50-foot shot bounced off the backboard. Score: Georgetown 77, Virginia 77.

The First Overtime: Virginia opened up strong but allowed Georgetown to hang in there. The Hoyas took the lead 84-83 on a tip-in by Nat Burton, then added two Kevin Braswell free throws to take a three point lead. With center Lee Scruggs limping noticeably and perhaps dehydrating, Georgetown turned to Braswell at nearly every turn. Down to just four scholarship players (Braswell, Perry, Burton, Gibson) and walk-on Hester, the Hoyas took an 88-85 lead to the last moments of overtime, where Hester fouled U.Va's Roger Mason driving to the basket with 14 seconds to play. Mason made the free throw, and the Hoyas could not get off a shot at game's end. Score: Georgetown 88, Virginia 88.

The Second Overtime: In the intermission, Coach Esherick was tagged with a technical foul for complaining about what the TV cameras picked out: when Virginia retrieved the rebound with one second left, a guard called time out in front of the official, yet the wahoos had no time outs. No technical was called on the player, but they called one on Esherick.

With 2:51 to play, Virginia took a 96-93 lead, as an exhausted Scruggs was sent to the bench. What followed brought the crowd to its feet: Anthony Perry hits a three to tie the game at 96, then Virginia's Donald Hand answers with a three. Next possession, Braswell drains the third three pointer in a minute and the game was tied at 99-99. The crowd couldn't believe it. Neither could anyone else!

After a Virginia miss on the following possession, Virginia fouls senior Rhese Gibson, who calmly sinks two free throws among the raucous home crowd for GU to lead 101-99. On its last possession, Chris Williams drove and connected on a bank shot with 24 seconds to play. Holding for one shot, Georgetown could not get Braswell open and his 24 foot shot was short as the horn sounded.

Not only was Georgetown entering its first triple overtime game since 1955, but Virginia became the first team in 24 years to score 100 points on the Hoyas, a record formerly held by Seton Hall in a 102-91 win over the Hoyas in January, 1976. Score: Georgetown 101, Virginia 101.

The Third Overtime: How much was left in the Hoyas? After nearly three hours, the Hoya road warriors were walking a tightrope: three of its remaining five players had four fouls, and any slip up could put them in a bind. Taking advantage of GU's hesitancy to pick up a cheap foul, Virginia's Chris Williams gave the Cavaliers a 105-101 lead with 3:38 to play. But in a two minute stretch, the Hoyas stopped three U.Va. possessions, allowing Hester, Burton, and Braswell all connected on shots to give GU a 107-105 lead with 2:20 to play.

The teams traded free throws when Virginia drove inside to tie the score at 109 with about 0:40 to play. Coming out of a timeout, Braswell found Hester alone in the corner with 31 seconds left, who unloaded a 22 foot three point stunner, 112-109. It was the first 3 point shot connected by Hester in his two year Georgetown career.

Virginia wasn't done, however. U.Va. had an open look at a three pointer which went around and out, and after 1 of 2 GU free throws, picked up a quick basket on the next possession to close to 113-111. After missing a three point attempt with 6.8 seconds, Virginia fouled Braswell. Braswell missed the second of two free throws, still leaving Virginia a chance at quadruple overtime at 114-111. On the ensuing possession, the Cavaliers threw the ball out of bounds. Anthony Perry took the inbounds pass, was fouled, and made one of two free throws to seal the victory. Final: Georgetown 115, Virginia 111.

Here's the box score. While you're checking Braswell, Scruggs, and Hester, don't overlook 49 percent field goal shooting, a career high 13 rebounds from senior Rhese Gibson (in 38 minutes of play), and 12 big points down the stretch from Anthony Perry.

Among the records tied or broken in Wednesday's game:

    Team Records:
  • Most Points Combined In One Georgetown Game: 226, ties record held by GU-Holy Cross (1972-73)
  • Most Points Combined In Any NIT Game: 226, breaks record held by UConn-Holy Cross (213, 1955 NIT)
  • Three point field goals made: 12, ties record held by GU-Providence and GU-Miami (both in 1995-96)
  • Most Points In A Georgetown Post-Season Game: 115, breaks record of 98 vs. Texas Tech (1996 NCAA)
  • Most Combined Points In A Georgetown Post-Season Game: 226, breaks record of 188 vs. Texas Tech (98-90, 1996 NCAA)

    Individual Records:
  • Most minutes by one player in a single game: Kevin Braswell (49 minutes)
  • Career high in scoring by Kevin Braswell (40). Braswell joins Allen Iverson (who scored 40 against Seton Hall in 1996) as the only players to score 40 or more points in a game since 1970. The record is 46 by Jim Barry in 1965.
  • Career highs in scoring and rebounding by Gharun Hester (9 pts., 10 rebs.)
  • Tied career high in rebounding by Rhese Gibson (13)

Here is the box score for the game.


GEORGETOWN (115)
                fg    ft    rb
         min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Burton    31   3-7   2-2   3-8  1  4    8
Scruggs   44  9-18   0-0   0-6  1  4   19
Watkins    5   2-2   0-0   3-3  0  5    4
Hunter    28  4-10   0-0   0-2  1  5   12
Braswell  49 11-25 14-21   0-4  5  3   40
Freeman   16   2-3   1-2   1-3  1  5    5
Hester    32   4-7   0-2  3-10  2  4    9
Gibson    38   2-3   2-3  4-13  4  2    6
Perry     31   4-8   2-4   0-2  0  4   12
Hillier    1   0-0   0-0   0-0  0  0    0

TOTALS   275 41-83 21-34 14-51 15 36  115

Percentages: FG-.494, FT-.618. 3-Point
Goals: 12-25, .480 (Burton 0-1, Scruggs
1-3, Hunter 4-7, Braswell 4-10, Hester
1-1, Perry 2-3). Team rebounds: 9.
Blocked shots: 4 (Scruggs 4). Turnovers:
25 (Braswell 8, Scruggs 5, Burton 2,
Hester 2, Hunter 2, Perry 2, Watkins 2,
Freeman, Gibson). Steals: 6 (Hester 3,
Braswell, Scruggs, Watkins).

VIRGINIA (111)
                fg    ft    rb
         min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Hall      42  8-14   3-9  6-11  2  4   21
Williams  48  6-18  8-11   2-7  2  4   23
T Watson  48  7-10   6-9  3-12  1  5   20
Hand      39  5-15 10-12   1-3  4  5   22
Mason     22   1-7   3-3   2-2  1  4    5
Mapp      25  1-11   1-2   2-2  3  1    3
Friel     14   1-2   0-0   0-0  1  1    3
Dondon    21   3-6   0-0   1-3  0  3    6
Ducharme  11   3-4   0-1   1-3  0  2    6
Dersch     5   1-1   0-0   0-0  1  0    2

TOTALS   275 36-88 31-47 18-43 15 29  111

Percentages: FG-.409, FT-.660. 3-Point
Goals: 8-29, .276 (Hall 2-7, Williams 3-8,
Hand 2-7, Mason 0-2, Mapp 0-3, Friel 1-2).
Team rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 3
(Williams, T Watson, Friel). Turnovers:
17 (Williams 6, Hall 4, Hand 2, Mapp
2, Ducharme, Mason, T Watson). Steals:
11 (Hall 4, Hand 3, Dondon 2, Ducharme,
Williams).

Georgetown 39 38 11 13 14  -  115
Virginia   48 29 11 13 10  -  111

Technical fouls: Georgetown 2
(Freeman, Bench). Virginia 1
(Ducharme).  A: 8,251.
Big East Tournament Recap 3/12/00

"We had a good run. Nobody thought we were going to beat Syracuse. A lot of people probably didn't think we were going to beat West Virginia when they found out Ruben wasn't going to play. Nobody gave us a chance to play Connecticut close. I think that's definitely [a] positive for our team."--Craig Esherick

St. John's is the Big East champions, but the Georgetown Hoyas were the surprise team at this year's conference tournament. Here are recaps of the games:

"If you go ahead and play and miss, they have plenty of time to come down and set up a second shot. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm wrong as a coach. I'm getting tired of these guys going the length of the court and making shots." --WVU coach Gale Catlett

West Virginia Recap: Wednesday's opener saw the Hoyas battle with West Virginia. Because of injuries to Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje and Victor Samnick, Coach Esherick went deep into the bench, giving junior walk-on Gharun Hester 20 minutes at the small forward. The teams were tied at halftime and no team held more than a four point lead in the second half.

With the score tied at 67 and 0:41 to play, West Virginia coach Gale Catlett makes the most talked-about decision of the tournament--he opts to hold the ball for one shot. Georgetown's defense offers no chance of getting a good shot off, and the Hoyas regain possession with :06 to play. Although most of the Garden crowds expects Kevin Braswell to take the last shot, West Virginia backs off Braswell, expecting a pass inside to Lee Scruggs. Instead, Braswell (19 points, 2 turnovers) connects on a 25 footer with two-tenths of a second to play for the game winner, the biggest last second shot for the Hoyas since Don Reid's tip-in in the 1995 NCAA's versus Weber State.

The win gave the Hoyas an important win for NIT purposes and knocked the Mountaineers out of the post season. Here are links to the coverage:

"The problem with this game was Syracuse. It had nothing to do with Georgetown." --Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim

Syracuse Recap: Georgetown's performance in the quarterfinal against Syracuse was nothing short of classic. And Syracuse didn't lose it so much as Georgetown won it. The Hoyas held Syracuse essentially scoreless during two early stretches of each half to build a manageable seven point lead over the #8 team in the nation and the top-seed in the tournament. On offense, Lee Scruggs (9-14 from the field, 20 points) had a superb game, with shots that Syracuse simply could not stop. Kevin Braswell (20 points) and Demetrius Hunter controlled the backcourt, holding SU playmaker Jason Hart to 3 for 10 shooting.

The Garden crowd didn't seem to believe what was going on until Braswell found Boumtje-Boumtje for an inside dunk with 4:29 to play to take a 60-51 lead. At that point, the Garden crowd erupted with the chance that #1 Syracuse would fall, and to its hated rival, no less. Syracuse closed to within three but no further. The stat of the day was simple--Georgetown connected on 27 of 31 free throws (yes, that's right), while Syracuse missed 9 of its 18 free throw shots. A late deflection by Braswell sealed the huge upset, marking only the second time in 19 years that a #1 seed fell in the quarterfinals.

The win broke a six game Syracuse win streak over the Hoyas dating to the 1996 season, and sent the Orange home early for the first time in five years. Yes, the rivalry is on again!

Here are links to the coverage:

"I know Jimmy [Boeheim] was a little down on his team last night, but looking at that tape last night, I mean Georgetown played exceptionally well and I thought they played pretty well tonight too. I think we just played better down the stretch." --Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun

Connecticut Recap: Friday's semifinal was a throwback to the Garden games of old--tickets being scalped on the street, pep rallies along Seventh Avenue, and the buzz in the air of a big game among marquee teams. And for 30 minutes, the Hoyas did their part, staying with the #4 seeded Connecticut Huskies at every turn. Lee Scruggs poured in 18 first half points to give the Hoyas a 33-30 lead, and midway through the second half the Hoyas were within two at 50-48. At that point, however Connecticut took over with a 12-0 run and Georgetown's unexpected stay in the spotlight came to a conclusion.

Lee Scruggs (11-23, 27 points) and Jameel Watkins (5-12, 11 pts) had strong games early, but the Hoyas' guard play could not keep pace. Kevin Braswell was shut out for the 14 minutes of the game and finished only 4 for 14, while Demetrius Hunter (1 for 8) was not effective and Anthony Perry (0 for 2) played just eight minutes. The Hoyas resorted to three-pointers late, to no avail, shooting 5 for 23 in the 70-55 loss.

The UConn band offered taunts of "NIT! NIT!" at game's end, but there weren't many Hoya fans hanging their heads. Here are links to the coverage:

Notre Dame 77, Georgetown 54 3/4/00

March 4--If there was any opportunity to build momentum heading into the Big East Tournament, this was it. For Notre Dame, that is.

The Hoyas were routed by Notre Dame Georgetown 77-54 Saturday at MCI Center. When the leading rebounding team in the conference is outrebounded by 22, there are no excuses for an effort like this.

The Hoyas started off slow, which isn't entirely unusual this season. The Hoyas opened 1 for 6, with four turnovers, and Notre Dame jumped to an early 10-2 lead. But where the Georgetown defense would help keep the Hoyas together, there was no such response.

The 10-2 ND lead grew to 15-4, 23-6, 27-9, 34-13, and with 2:09 to play in the half, Georgetown was down 27 at home, 43-16. Georgetown's offense showed little enthusiasm and its interior defense was as poor as has been seen all season.

A pair of late three pointers by Anthony Perry narrowed the count to 43-24 at the half, but the game was already done. The Hoyas shot 29 percent and missed their first nine attempts from 3-point range before Perry's two shots. GU finished 5 of 26 from three point range for the game (19 percent) and 20 for 66 (29 percent) overall.

The only thing that prevented the worst Georgetown loss in Big East history was Notre Dame's turnovers (20) and its ability to rest key players for extended stretches of the game. Georgetown, the leading rebounding team in the conference, was outrebounded 51-29. The Irish collected 23 assists on its 29 field goals, shot 53 percent, and was led by Troy Murphy with 23 points and 15 rebounds in 29 minutes of action.

Here is the Washington Post link and a box score below for a game Notre Dame could have easily won by forty. Note the performances of the three key performers in Wednesday's game against West Virginia: Kevin Braswell, Nat Burton and Lee Scruggs, combining to shoot 5 for 29 (17 percent).


                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Starters:			   
Hunter          32  4-13   4-5   1-2  0  2   14
Braswell        34  2-11   1-2   0-3  4  3    6
Burton          23   1-7   0-4   2-2  0  1    2
Boumtje Boumtje 31   3-7   3-4  6-11  0  4    9
Scruggs         22  2-11   1-2   1-3  2  3    5
Reserves:
Perry           24   4-8   0-0   1-4  3  0   10
Hillier          5   1-1   0-0   0-0  1  0    2
Freeman         19   2-6   0-0   2-2  1  4    4
Gibson           7   1-2   0-0   0-0  0  0    2
Watkins          3   0-0   0-0   0-0  0  0    0
Team                               2
DNP: Paulus, Hester, Burns
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 20-66  9-17 13-29 11 17   54
Georgetown 72, West Virginia 54 3/1/00

March 1--If Georgetown wanted to send a message heading into the final weekend of conference play, Wednesday's game versus West Virginia was just what Craig Esherick ordered.

Esherick's use of his bench and an effective 2-3 zone led the Hoyas to a 72-54 win, a crucial step forward towards an NIT bid.

The two teams opened the first team fairly evenly, with GU holding a 10-9 lead after eight minutes. As Coach Esherick moved the Hoyas into a 2-3 matchup zone, the Mountaineers went cold, leading the G-men to a slow but steady 10-1 run to build the lead. Led by 11 first half points by Kevin Braswell, the Hoyas held a surprising 37-18 halftime lead.

West Virginia closed the halftime lead to as few as 16, 45-29 before the Hoyas extended the lead to 23 at 54-31 with 10:47 to play. Kevin Braswell picked up his 4th foul a minute later, but in comparison to the game at Charleston, WV (where Braswell got into foul trouble and the Hoyas faded quickly), the Mountaineers could not close the lead to less than 16. With Anthony Perry failing to exert much in the game (0-2 from the floor, 2-4 from the line), a guard lineup of Trent Hillier (4 pts, 2 assists) and Demetrius Hunter (6-8 FT's, 10 pts.) played surprisingly well. Nat Burton (7 for 10, 16 points) helped steady the Hoyas during this span, and when Braswell returned with 2:53 to play, the lead was at 20. He fouled out with 1:53 left with 16 points, 9 points, 7 assists, and 4 steals. Hillier ran out the string en route to a career high of 17 minutes in the game, although Hillier and fellow walk-on Gharun Hester missed 7 of 8 free throws in the last two minutes.

Post-game coverage can be found at the following links:

 

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