The Great Escape: Georgetown 69, Merrimack 67
The Merrimack Warriors missed three game tying layup attempts in the final four seconds, giving the Georgetown Hoyas its fourth straight win, 69-67, before 2,744 at Capital One Arena.
POST-GAME ARTICLES
The Hoyas may be the least formidable five-win team in the nation, in no small part because of their visible inattention to detail for large portions of a game. That was evident in the opening three minutes, where Georgetown gave up four turnovers and allowed the Warriors three consecutive layups to open the game, 6-0. In lieu of wasting an early time out, head coach Ed Cooley swapped out the entire starting five for reserves, bringing some fresh air to GU's defensive sets and set the table for a game of runs.Georgetown answered Merrimack's 6-0 run with a 21-4 run of its own, taking an 11 point lead midway through the first half on 7 for 12 shooting and the strength of three point shooting, including two four point plays off three point shooting by Jayden Epps. This run was short lived, as GU failed to make a basket for the next six minutes despite considerable advantages on the boards and frequent visits to the free throw line.
"I had to have an open and honest conversation with our men in the locker room about preparation, about discipline, about toughness, about attention to detail." |
The Fan Base That Isn't
When Ed Cooley promised a return to fans coming to Capital One Arena, even he might not have estimated how steep a climb it would be.
Wednesday's 8:30 start drew an announced crowd of 2,744 (13 percent capacity), with noticeable absences among students, season ticket holders, and a city unmotivated by the offer of free tickets for all D.C. residents that was advertised for the game. It's the second smallest crowd for any off-campus game in 42 years.No excuses about a late night start: this team deserves better.
1993: Did It Change Anything?
The Washington Post doesn't cover Georgetown basketball regularly, but a Sunday Post feature asks if the Hoyas' November 26, 1993 game with Maryland was a program-changing game.
For Maryland, that is.Scott Allen's article, titled "Thirty years ago, Maryland's epic win over Georgetown changed everything" is largely a recap of the series between the schools up to 1993, citing the Terrapins overtime win over a Georgetown team that missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in 15 years a season earlier. By season's end, both teams made the tournament, but the opening day win began a upward trajectory for Maryland that led to its first NCAA appearance in six years and a run of 11 consecutive bids and the 2002 national title.
Quotes from former Maryland coach Gary Williams form the bulk of the article; comments from those associated with Georgetown were not included.
Did it change anything for Georgetown? Not really. The 1993-94 season stood within a 11 year stretch that, excepting the Allen Iverson years from 1994 to 1996, Georgetown never advanced past the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Hoyas finished 19-12 that season and advanced to the Big East tournament finals for the third time in four years, but like the previous two, fell short of the title.
The 1993 Georgetown-Maryland game was organized and promoted by the late Russ Potts, who had persuaded John Thompson to schedule Virginia a decade ago in prime time before to a sold out Capital Centre. The 1993 game was not prime time but scheduled by ESPN at noon the day after Thanksgiving, drawing just 13,461 to the 19,591 seat arena in Prince George's County, but with Georgetown students on Thanksgiving break. The teams have played just four times since, only once at Capital One Arena, a 76-75 Maryland win in 2016 that failed to draw any more than the 1993 game did: just 13,154 in attendance.
Into 2024, what's next?
Head coaches Ed Cooley and Ralph Willard have publicly stated interest in a series as early as the 2024-25 season, but the pending expansion of the Big Ten conference could complicate matters, as is the role of networks in sponsoring the game. Maryland can schedule a game at Xfinity Center at any time that suits the networks, Georgetown, of course, can not reciprocate.
One opportunity is self-evident in this discussion: what about women's basketball? While the men's teams have not played in seven yerars, the women's teams have not played since 2011. If the Post or other local sponsors could get behind a men's/women's doubleheader between the schools, it could be a boost to both the men's and the women's programs on the Hilltop.
Until then, we wait.
Georgetown 88, Jackson State 81
A career high 34 points from Jayden Epps rescued the wobbly Georgetown Hoyas from another upset, an 88-81 final over Jackson State that was in some doubt until the final 90 seconds.
POST-GAME ARTICLES
On an afternoon where former Georgetown center Tyler Adams (C'15) made his return as an assistant coach for Jackson State, the Hoyas were down two men at the start, with Rowan Brumbaugh and Anthony Grant out of action and Jay Heath nursing a turf toe, making his mobility difficult. To the indigestion of many in the announced crowd of 4,126, the 1-6 Tigers dominated inside, taking a 20-17 lead midway in the first half, with 14 of those points
coming in the paint. Despite three threes over a run that gave the Hoyas a 30-24 lead at the 5:49 mark of the first half, the Tigers continued to go inside and led 40-39 at the break.Recovering from a dislocated finger suffered in the first half, Jayden Epps had another big second half. He scored 24 points after the break to keep the Hoyas close in a game that neither team led by more than three points for much of the second half.
Tied at 54 at the first media timeout, the two teams battled back and forth for the next seven minutes, with the Hoyas not able to pull away as many had expected. Trailing 70-67, Georgetown got back to back threes from Epps and Jay Heath to lead 73-70 with 7:46 to play, but the Hoyas never shook the Tigers until the final 1:04, when a Drew Fielder free throw and subsequent block ended Jackson State's last sustained offensive push.
Fielder's free throw was the only bench point of the game.
With the exception of the season opener versus former Division II LeMoyne, Georgetown has struggled to contain opponents inside, and the Tigers were no different, with 22 offensive rebounds, 25 second chance points, and 38 points in the paint where Georgetown needed 13 threes to prevail. Epps led all scorers with 34, 24 after halftime, while Dontrez Styles finished with 22 and no turnovers for a third consecutive game. Wayne Bristol, called into the starting lineup with Rowan Brumbaugh calling in sick, finished with 11.
Despite playing with a painful turf toe, Jay Heath had 13 points, seven rebounds and nine assists, with five of those rebounds after the break.
"I'm proud of his growth," coach Ed Cooley said in post-game remarks. "I'm the fourth coach [he's had] in five years so trying to build that trust with him...I thought today was his best overall performance since we've had him."
More follows Sunday. Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
Epps 34 3-9 7-9 7-11 4 4 0 34
Heath 38 2-3 3-6 0-0 7 9 2 13
Bristol 32 3-4 1-4 2-2 2 3 4 11
Styles 36 7-8 2-5 2-3 5 0 4 22
Cook 26 1-3 0-0 5-7 7 0 4 7
Reserves:
Bacote 13 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 1 2 0
Fielder 18 0-1 0-1 1-2 6 2 0 1
Mutombo 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0
Team Rebounds 2
DNP: Asadallah, Montgomery, Kazor, Muresan
Unavailable: Brumbaugh, Grant, Massoud
TOTALS 200 16-28 13-26 17-25 33 19 17 88
Saturday's game welcomed former Georgetown center Tyler Adams (C'15) to Capital One Arena, eight years removed since his arrival at Senior Day 2015.
What A surreal moment it was coming back home to the place that made me the person and coach I am today. If you know me you know I love Gtown more then anything. Thanks to all of the fans and alums that have supported me over the years on and off the court. #HoyaSaxa #H4L pic.twitter.com/0GhRfnfWjr
— ??Coach Adams?? (@TylerAdams0) November 26, 2023
A highly recruited center out of Jackson, MS, Adams arrived to the Hoyas in 2011 and played four games in his freshman year before being diagnosed with a cardiac issue at Georgetown University Hospital. Adams was ruled medically ineligible for the remainder of his career, with one notable exception.
"[Coach Thompson] told me with the team yesterday," per a recap at the HoyaSaxa.com archive for March 2015. "He called us together in a group and mentioned how he doesn't do what other coaches do with starting seniors, that it wasn't that big of a deal to him, but at the end of the conversation he said, `But we're going to make an exception and start you.' "I thought it was a joke. Everyone started laughing and it kind of shocked me, but everyone was excited when they heard the news."
Adams started the game, moved into the paint for a layup, and left to a standing ovation.
"When my situation came about I didn't want to mourn or be sad and be a burden on the team, my main focus was just keeping a positive energy and helping the guys out," he said. "I'm not the type of person who gets down on things because I know in life people have it worse than I do so that was the approach I took with it and that's what helped get through the emotions I may have had. Coach Thompson has made me feel like I'm part of the team, I dress for practice, attend every work out and I probably watch more film than the guys who play so I definitely feel like I've been involved and that definitely helped me out emotionally."
Since graduating in 2015, Adams has pursued a coaching career, with stops at the high school and junior college levels before serving as an assistant at Alcorn State from 2020 to 2022, and joining Jackson State as an assistant in 2022.
Georgetown 88, American 83 (OT)
In one of the great single-game performances in Georgetown history. Jayden Epps scored a career high 31 points, including 20 in the final six minutes of the second half and 14 in the final 2:17, carrying a shaky Hoyas team into overtime en route to an 88-83 win over American University before 4,755 at Capital One Arena.
POST-GAME ARTICLES
For 38 minutes this game had the familiar stench of an impending loss, the kind of crushing setbacks that have been far too regular in recent years and have caused many outsiders to consider the Hoyas a fading program. The Eagles (2-3) arrived at Capital One Arena following back to back wins over Siena and NJIT, and its ability to quickly pivot on offense, force turnovers and get uncomfortably open looks from the outside stung the Hoyas all afternoon. The first half was a collection of runs where neither team gained a true advantage, but the ease at which American was handling the Hoyas was one of concern. Down 8-4 following back to back threes from Jayden Epps and Rowan Brumbaugh, the Eagles went on a 10-3 run on 4 for 4 shooting. The teams tied at 16, 24, and 28, with the Hoyas holding the Eagles scoreless for the final 4:14 of the first half and taking a 35-34 lead at the break, shooting 50 percent from the field but a woeful 5 for 12 from the foul line that kept American close at the break. For its part, the Eagles went to halftime shooting 44 percent from the field, with five three pointers, four from reserve guard Jeff Sprouse. and were not intimidated by the homestanding Hoyas in this one, despite its starters shooting a combined 5 for 14 at the break, thanks to four threes and 12 first half points from reserve guard Jeff Sprouse, tying his career high.
A less than inspiring first half by Georgetown could not have begun more ominously in the second. Georgetown proceeded to pick up a shot clock violation on its opening possession, missed its first four shots and gave up two turnovers in the first three minutes of the second half, igniting the Eagles to a 9-0 run and its biggest lead to date, 43-35. A 10-2 run by the Hoyas tied the score at the 12:37 mark, 45-45, only to see American shred the Hoyas yet again on a 12-2 run, with a three from Lincoln Ball, back to back baskets in the paint, and a three from forward Matt Mayock put American up 57-47 with 8:15 to play, the largest lead by any American team over a Georgetown in the series for a half century.
Hope was becoming hard to find. Georgetown had given up 11 second half points to turnovers and scored just 12 points in the first 12 minutes of the second half. Following free throws from Wayne Bristol, a give and go to center Jermaine Ballisager Webb added a three point play for the Eagles at the 6:17 mark, 60-49, and the Fox Sports 2 announcers were beginning to sound the funeral dirge for Georgetown in this game.
Jayden Epps answered with a three at the 5:51 mark, the first three for Georgetown since the 5:06 mark of the first half. He was fouled attempting a three on the Hoyas' next possession, added three in rapid fire and closed the gap to 62-55. The Eagles struck back when guard Lorenzo Donadio, shooting a mere 25 percent from the field on three point attempts, sank his second three of the afternoon to increase the lead to 65-55 with 4:31 to play.
There was still time, but it was fleeting. An Epps miss from three was collected and scored by Cook to close to eight, 65-57, and off an Elijah Stevens turnover that was the first AU turnover in over eight minutes of play, Bristol sank the biggest shot of his Georgetown career, a three pointer which closed the margin to five with 3:26 remaining. Bristol then picked up a key offensive rebound and fed Styles for a second chance basket, 65-62.
A huge rebound from Bristol Jr. leads to a bucket for Styles, cutting the American lead to just one basket
— Georgetown Hoops (@GeorgetownHoops) November 19, 2023
With three minutes left American leads 65-63#HoyaSaxa pic.twitter.com/7tIYO2duiy
The rally was on, but Georgetown's interior defense was exposed yet again on an Eagle layup, 67-62, with 2:39 to play. Twenty two seconds later, the Jayden Epps highlight reel began.
At the 2:17 mark, Styles found Epps in the corner for a three, 67-65. On the Eagles' next series, Cook was out of position and Stevens drove inside, picking up two free throws, 69-65. Epps drove inside on Georgetown's next possession, 69-67, with 1:35 left, but American worked the shot clock down to two and picked up a fourth foul on Bristol, sinking both shots at the line, 71-67. Epps was back on the there point line, and hit another one, 71-70, with 0:50 left.
The Eagles worked down the clock and 6-9 Matt Rogers found himself in a mismatch down low. Supreme Cook was playing at the top of the key and 6-3 Cam Bacote, platooning with Rowan Brumbaugh on defense, was out of position, fouling Rogers with 25 seconds remaining. Hitting the first, Rogers' second foul shot was off, but Bacote failed to box out when Rogers collected his own rebound. Worse yet, Bacote inexplicably fouled Rogers as his layup sailed through the hoop. Another free throw followed, 75-70, a four point swing with just 24 seconds remaining that sent a shiver through the hearts of the Hoya faithful.
Epps wasn't through, however. Another three closed to 75-73 with 15 seconds remaining. American's Colin Smalls, an 85 percent foul shooter this season, was immediately fouled but split the difference, and Georgetown took over down three. Getting the ball over half court, Brumbaugh found Epps in the corner, guarded by the 6-7 Mayock. Epps would not be denied for his fourth three in a row, 76-76.
Jayden Epps decided to keep the party going. #HoyaSaxa | #Hoyas pic.twitter.com/SwnKsqDAwL
— The NBS Sports Hour (@NBSSportsHour) November 20, 2023
Georgetown opened up the overtime with an inside basket and a foul, but Cook clanked the free throw, 78-76, with the Eagles quickly remedied with an Elijah Stevens layup off an offensive rebound over Cook, 78-78. It was American's only basket of the overtime period, as the teams then traded free throws for the next two minutes. Down two, 84-82, at the 1:52 mark, AU's Matt Rogers missed the first of two free throws, but made the second to close to one, 84-83. On Georgetown's next series, Brumbaugh saw a gap in the American defense and raced down the lane for a layup, 86-83, at the 1:03 mark.
"I thought it was a resilient win. I thought it was one of the first times we've won here in respect to instilling a culture of resilience, togetherness, unselfishness - of complete buy-in and trust of what we are trying to instill in our men. " --Ed Cooley
For all his heroics in regulation, Epps appeared to tire in the overtime, missing his only two attempts. Both teams were unable to carry anything from outside, combining to go 0 for 9 in the overtime from beyond the arc.
Epps (31), Styles (22) and Brumbaugh (13) accounted for 66 of Georgetown's 88 points, and 33 of its 41 second half points. Other players struggled noticeably: following a first half ankle injury, Jay Heath played just four minutes after the break without scoring, while Cook took one shot and collected one rebound in 19 minutes of second half play. Wayne Bristol's five point, five rebound box score doesn't look like much but his hustle and defensive intensity helped jump start the Hoyas late and deserves lots of credit for waking up this team when it appeared all was lost.
Many of the Hoyas problems this season remained in evidence this afternoon: a lack of consistency in the pivot, poor ball handling at key moments of the game, and the absence of bench scoring, with just three field goals for the game. At the end of the day, however, the Hoyas could take to heart that college basketball truism: survive and advance.
Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
Epps 40 7-9 6-13 3-3 0 4 2 31
Brumbaugh 31 3-4 1-5 4-5 4 4 1 13
Heath 16 1-3 0-1 0-0 1 1 0 2
Styles 44 7-12 1-6 5-6 11 1 1 22
Cook 38 3-3 0-0 4-7 4 1 4 10
Reserves:
Bacote 12 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 1 2 0
Mutombo 6 0-0 0-0 0-2 1 0 1 0
Fielder 13 1-1 1-1 0-1 5 0 3 5
Bristol 25 0-1 1-1 2-2 5 1 5 5
Team Rebounds 1
DNP: Asadallah, Montgomery, Massoud, Grant,
Kazor, Muresan
TOTALS 200 20-33 10-28 18-26 32 13 19 88
Georgetown 83, Mount St. Mary's 72
Dontrez Styles scored a career high 26 points in an otherwise unremarkable 83-72 win over Mount St. Mary's as part of the Georgetown multi-team event.
POST-GAME ARTICLES
The Hoyas opened with seven straight points and threatened to blow this game open in the first five minutes, but never did, as bad habits continue to persist for Georgetown this season. From an 11-2 start to the game, Georgetown never trailed, though the Mountaineers truly never went away, thanks to numerous Georgetown turnovers and spotty shooting. For Mt. St. Mary's, it starters were largely unproductive at the start, leading coach Dan Englestad to bring in a number of reserves, including guard Deshayne Montgomery, who outscored the entire MSM starting lineup in the first half. Montgomery had 11 at the break as the Mountaineers withstood a 10-0 Georgetown run midway through the first half and trailed by as many as 17, 36-19, before closing to 43-31 at the half, despite no field goals in the final three minutes of the period.
Georgetown got a strong first half from Dontrez Styles (tying his 15 point first half at Rutgers), along with 10 each from Jay Heath and Jayden Epps. The trio accounted for 35 of Georgetown's 43 points, a number tempered by 11 first half turnovers, eight from Epps and Rowan Brumbaugh combined.
Dontrez Styles for 3. #Hoyas pic.twitter.com/IHeQJx2tHn
— Patrick Waring (@WaringPatrick) November 18, 2023
With Brumbaugh struggling, head coach Ed Cooley started grad transfer Cam Bacote to open the second half but he was not productive and Brumbaugh played 15 minutes therein. Brumbaugh finished with five second half points while Epps took one shot in 17 minutes of action, putting additional pressure on Styles and center Supreme Cook to carry the load.
With a smaller MSM lineup, Cook was largely untouched inside, scoring 15 after halftime in a 15 minute run where Georgetown never led by fewer than 12 nor more than 16. Georgetown led 75-56 with 5:28 to play when the Mountaineers began to whittle down the lead at the foul line, followed by three GU turnovers in a two minute swing that closed the score to 76-67 with 3:20 to play. An offensive rebound off a missed MSM free throw closed to seven at the 3:14 mark, 76-69, a 10-1 run.
A pair of Jay Heath free throws pushed the lad back to nine and coach Cooley's move to a zone defense neutralized the Mountaineers thereafter, as MSM finished the game 0 for 4 down the stretch and a Brumbaugh to Cook interior pass put GU up 11, 82-71. An exchange of free throws ended the game.
Four Georgetown starters (Styles, Heath, Cook, Epps) accounted for 60 of Georgetown's 83 points. The Hoyas held a considerable rebounding advantage against the smaller Mountaineers (45 to 29) but gave up 48 points in the paint and 16 fast break points compared to nine fast break points for the Hoyas. Georgetown finished with 20 turnovers for a second consecutive game, allowing the visiting Mountaineers 22 points as a result.
"Overall, all of our guards have to do a better job if we're going to be competitive in the Big East," Cooley said in post-game comments. "We're not going to be able to give the ball away the way we did."
The finish could have been a lot more troubling for the announced crowd of 4,648 had the Mountaineers shot better at the line, shooting just 9 for 15 in the second half. A better run at the line could have closed this to a single possession in the final two minutes, but for this afternoon, Georgetown steered clear of an upset.
First one down for the weekend. Back at it tomorrow. #HoyaSaxa pic.twitter.com/gzCj5AexA7
— Georgetown Hoops (@GeorgetownHoops) November 19, 2023
Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
Epps 30 2-3 2-5 0-0 5 6 0 10
Brumbaugh 23 2-3 0-3 3-4 2 1 1 7
Heath 30 3-8 3-5 2-4 8 2 2 17
Styles 37 5-9 3-6 7-9 8 4 2 26
Cook 29 7-9 0-0 3-5 8 0 2 17
Reserves:
Bacote 15 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 3 1 0
Mutombo 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Fielder 13 1-2 0-1 0-0 3 1 4 2
Bristol 12 2-3 0-2 0-0 3 0 0 4
Team Rebounds 6
DNP: Asadallah, Montgomery, Massoud, Grant,
Kazor, Muresan
TOTALS 200 22-37 8-22 15-22 45 17 12 83
Rutgers 71, Georgetown 60
Forty minutes of bad basketball introduced the 2023-24 Georgetown Hoyas to life on the road in an 11 point loss to Rutgers, 71-60, that could have easily been twice that.
POST-GAME ARTICLES
Opening with a four guard starting lineup, the Hoyas appeared rattled from the start, giving up two dunks in the first 13 seconds of the game. Rutgers employed man on man defense throughout much of the game, sending the inexperienced Georgetown offense late into the shot clock and limiting good possessions, including three shot clock violations and a ten second count over the course of the fame. Poor shooting, and poor decision making, followed all evening.- GUHoyas.com
- ScarletKnights.com
- Associated Press
- Asbury Park Press
- Reuters
Wash. Post: No Coverage
For its part, Rutgers did not shoot well. Georgetown closed to 10-8 midway through the first half before Jayden Epps left the game with an ankle injury, from which he later returned. A run of three point field goals from a Scarlet Knights team averaging just 25 percent from behind the arc soon pushed the lead to 21-13 with 9:32 to halftime.
In Epps' absence, Dontrez Styles had a solid first half, scoring the last nine points of the period via the three point shot with the Hoyas closing to 33-32 at the 1:14 mark and 36-32 at the half despite shooting 37 percent from the field, 13 turnovers, and being outscored 19-1 from the bench. Any hopes of a competitive game were blasted out of the Jersey Mike's Arena to open the second half, as Rutgers hit on six of its first seven shots and four threes inside the first four minutes to lead 54-36, while Georgetown had two Rowan Brumbaugh baskets and six turnovers in response. With no inside game and little help defensively, Georgetown never contended thereafter.
Turnovers abounded:
Highlights of Georgetown vs Rutgers
— Ryan Cassidy (@ryancassidycbb) November 16, 2023
21 Turnovers pic.twitter.com/trIPdLxIhk
Jayden Epps finished with 16 points. Dontrez Styles finished with 15 points, all from the first half, as he was scoreless in just two attempts after the break. Rowan Brumbaugh and Jay Heath missed 18 of 24 attempts between them as the Hoyas managed just four assists overall (its lowest since a 1998 game vs. Illinois) and 21 turnovers overall. The inside trio of Supreme Cook, Drew Fielder and Ryan Mutombo combined for seven points; the wafer-thin Georgetown bench had just six, five of which came in the final minute.
A total of 25 of Rutgers' 71 points came off Georgetown turnovers, covering up a bad night for the Knights at the foul line (14 for 24) and being outrebounded 40 to 29. While Rutgers hit its first four threes of the half (two more treys then went in but were whistled before the shots), it missed its last five to end the game.
Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
Epps 29 2-5 2-7 6-7 4 1 2 16
Brumbaugh 26 3-7 0-6 2-2 3 2 4 8
Heath 33 2-6 1-5 2-2 2 1 3 9
Styles 33 1-2 3-5 4-6 7 0 4 15
Cook 29 3-3 0-0 0-0 6 0 2 6
Reserves:
Bacote 7 0-0 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 3
Mutombo 11 0-2 0-0 1-2 6 0 1 1
Fielder 15 0-0 0-0 0-0 5 0 4 0
Grant 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Bristol 15 0-1 0-1 2-2 3 0 1 2
Team Rebounds 4
DNP: Asadallah, Montgomery, Massoud,
Kazor, Muresan
TOTALS 200 11-26 7-25 17-21 40 4 21 60
Edwin B. O'Neill (1931-2023)
Ed O'Neill (C'52) didn't play basketball at Georgetown, but his recent passing ends 75 years of devoted following to the Hoyas.
O'Neill died September 28 at the age of 92, per a note from a reader. Graduating at the age of 20 with an economics degree, he served three years in the United States Navy and for many years thereafter as an engineer at the David W. Taylor Naval Ship Research and Development Center in Bethesda, MD. He retired a number of years ago to Mount Pleasant, SC.The 1952 yearbook noted the two organizations that would form a foundation for two lifelong interests: sports and faith. He served as the sports editor of The HOYA in 1951-52 (where he was described as a "prolific" writer), and followed the Hoyas for decades thereafter. O'Neill was also a member of the St. John Berchman's Society, which was active at Georgetown from 1892 through Vatican II, and was a daily communicant at Mass for many years, per his obituary.
For 19 years, O'Neill was a regular contributor on the HoyaTalk message board, where under the nickname "Easy Ed" he posted over 7,200 comments, primarily on basketball and Catholic social thought. O'Neill had plenty of questions on Kenner League play as the summer progressed but made no mention of illness. His last post was three weeks before his death, wishing a fellow alumnus his best for a son's application to Georgetown. "Here's hoping he gets accepted," he wrote. "God bless him."
Ed O'Neill is survived by three children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Cooley: "We Played Complacent"
Head coach Ed Cooley was disappointed by the lack of effort shown in Saturday's loss.
"Holy Cross played a smart game," he said. "They made some timely shots, we missed some timely shots and free throws. Simple things beat us today.""As you're trying to teach men and rebuild the culture, it's important you play with intelligence, and I don't think we did... A lot of that is on me. In the finer points of the game, I've got to do a better job teaching our men how to deal with that.
"This is part of the process of development, the process of growing...I'll say this every single time: when you play with intelligence and understanding and purpose, you're normally successful. When you play with a lack of knowledge, and you play haphazardly, you're not going to have success over the course of 40 minutes."
Cooley's full remarks begin at the 17:15 mark of the video below.
Holy Cross 68, Georgetown 67
Holy Cross guard Joe Octave scored 33 points, 25 after halftime, as a smaller Holy Cross team effectively shut down Georgetown inside, 68-67 at Capital One Arena.
POST-GAME ARTICLES
Octave scored 19 of HC's final 22 points of the game as Georgetown shot just a meager 31 percent in the second half and was outrebounded 25-16 in the second half despite no Crusader starter taller than 6-6.- GUHoyas.com
- GoHolyCross.com
- Associated Press
- Worcester Telegram
Wash. Post: No Coverage
In a game that showed little urgency or intensity, Georgetown led by 11 with 8:33 to play before Octave scored 11 straight to even the score at 57 with 4:32 to play. Georgetown answered by a Jayden Epps three at the 3:46 mark, 60-57, and led 67-63 with 1:57 to play when a pair of Holy Cross free throws closed to 67-65. Fouled inside, Georgetown center Supreme Cook whiffed on two free throws, setting up Octave for an uncontested three, 68-67. The teams combined to miss its next three three pointers to close out the game.
Jayden Epps and Rowan Brumbaugh combined for 20 of Georgetown's 30 points after halftime, but the rest of the team offered little offensive or defensive support. Cook was manhandled inside throughout the game and his 2 for 6 free throw shooting was fatal. Coach Ed Cooley got a combined 0 for 3 after the break from starters Dontrez Styles and Drew Fielder, while Styles and Jay Heath were repeatedly beaten by Octave inside and out, with the 6-4 Crusader picking up more rebounds (11) than anyone on the Georgetown roster.
The Georgetown bench connected on 12 for 19 shooting in the opener versus LeMoyne. Tonight, two for 10, and only one field goal after halftime.
Nine missed free throws were the difference in Holy Cross' 75-73 loss to Siena Monday; in this one, Georgetown missed 6 of 13 after halftime.
The win was the first by the Crusaders over a major college opponent since a win over Boston College in 2012.
Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
Epps 38 3-8 4-11 4-4 0 3 0 22
Brumbaugh 36 3-5 3-6 2-2 2 3 4 17
Styles 23 2-6 1-3 0-0 2 0 0 7
Fielder 27 0-2 1-3 0-1 6 2 2 3
Cook 32 3-6 0-0 2-6 10 2 4 8
Reserves:
Heath 25 0-3 2-4 2-4 3 3 1 8
Mutombo 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 0
Grant 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Bristol 15 0-2 0-1 2-2 4 2 2 2
Team Rebounds 2
DNP: Asadallah, Montgomery, Bacote, Massoud,
Kazor, Muresan
TOTALS 200 11-32 11-29 12-19 31 15 13 67
Georgetown 94, LeMoyne 57
Five players scored in double figures as the Ed Cooley Era opened to rave reviews in a 94-57 win over LeMoyne College at Capital One Arena.
POST-GAME COVERAGE
Beginning with a there pointer by freshman Drew Fielder 19 seconds into the game, the new look Hoyas were ready to play against its Division I newcomer, who did not field a player taller than 6-7 in this game and suffered from poor shooting throughout the game. From a 9-5 deficit four minutes into the first half, the Dolphins missed its next nine shot attempts and the Hoyas went up 13 at the 11 minute mark, 20-7.Despite early foul trouble from Fielder and shooting woes from junior Jayden Epps, Georgetown put its best effort forward in the final 6:48 of the first half, outscoring the Dolphins 19-4 to carry a 24 point lead into intermission, 47-23. Eight different players scored as georgetown balanced its two point attempts (16) with its three point attempts (16), something it was painfully deficient in last season's efforts. Defensively, GU held LeMoyne to 3 for 19 three point shooting at the break and 27 percent overall.
If the first half was rare air for the Hoyas, the second half opened with some turbulence: four turnovers in the first two minutes and no field goals in the first three, but the Dolphins never closed within 25 thereafter as grad transfer Supreme Cook took over. Exercising his will inside, Cook scored 12 of the Hoyas' next 15 over a four minute stretch midway in the second half, finishing the game at the 8:02 mark with a game high 19 points and 13 rebounds.
Supreme Cook with a Tuesday night special! ?????@GeorgetownHoops | #BIGEASTmbb
— BIG EAST MBB (@BIGEASTMBB) November 8, 2023
pic.twitter.com/3C9mSJnZDn
Fine individual efforts were bookended by solid team play. Guarded by 5-11 Mike DePersia, Jayden Epps only took four shots on the evening but contributed 10 assists. Forward Dontrez Styles had 15 points and 10 rebounds, followed by sophomore Rowan Brumbaugh with 13 points and six rebounds.Jay heath had 15 off the bench and Fielder finished with 11.
Special note in this game goes to senior Wayne Bristol, whose hustle and tenacity was all over the floor. Bristol played 20 minutes and contributed 10 rebounds, a career high.
Wayne Bristol Jr. with the hustle.
— Patrick Waring (@WaringPatrick) November 8, 2023
Coach Cooley loves it. #Hoyas pic.twitter.com/1xm14RsMCQ
As befits a team with a height advantage, Georgetown had 50 points in the paint and outrebounded LeMoyne 52 to 29. Its defense was especially strong, holding the Dolphins to 7 for 31 from behind the arc and 32 percent overall.
Here's the Georgetown half of the box score:
MIN 2FG 3FG FT REB A PF PTS
Starters:
Epps 30 2-3 0-1 1-1 1 11 3 5
Brumbaugh 24 2-2 3-5 0-0 6 1 2 13
Styles 31 4-9 2-5 1-5 10 1 2 15
Fielder 19 3-4 1-6 2-4 4 1 4 11
Cook 27 8-9 0-0 3-7 13 0 2 19
Reserves:
Montgomery 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Heath 24 4-6 2-6 1-1 1 4 1 15
Bacote 9 2-2 0-0 0-0 1 3 0 4
Mutombo 6 1-1 0-0 2-3 3 0 0 4
Grant 8 0-0 1-2 0-0 1 0 1 3
Bristol 20 1-2 1-2 0-1 10 1 1 5
Team Rebounds 2
DNP: Asadallah, Massoud, Kazor, Muresan
TOTALS 200 27-37 10-27 10-19 52 23 16 94
LeMoyne Attendance: 9,335
A crowd of 9,335 took advantage of free admission for Tuesday's game, the largest turnout for a season opener since the 2011-12 season.
IT IS PACKED
— John Kurkjian (@JohnKurkjian_) November 8, 2023
Courtesy of @Camboyd23 @brinlewis6 pic.twitter.com/E00xQvHZ0R
Report: $600M Sought For Arena Upgrades
With a lease that could expire as early as 2027, talks are underway to secure a $600 million local commitment to renovate Capital One Arena, per a report in the Washington Post.
"The funding would make up the bulk of an $800 million renovation plan Monumental has outlined to the city, according to the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations," writes the Post. "The remaining $200 million would be covered by Monumental, which is owned by founder and chief executive Ted Leonsis", a 1977 graduate of Georgetown.Built with $260 million in private funds in 1997, Capital One Arena is now 26 years old, and is the 10th oldest current NBA facility; the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, built one year earlier, is scheduled to be replaced by a new Center City arena by 2031. A 25-30 year lifespan is common for many arenas today, with new arenas or major renovations also being discussed in Orlando, Denver, Minneapolis, Dallas, and New Orleans. Arenas also contribute to sports team valuations--the Wizards are ranked 14th of 30 teams with a market value of $2.7 billion, while the Los Angeles Clippers, with a new arena under construction, are considered to be worth $3.7 billion.
The request comes at a time when each of the area's three sports owners have ongoing facility needs, with Mark Lerner and Washington Nationals looking for upgrades on its park, built 15 years ago, and Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris seeking public consensus to construct a new $2 billion facility near the site of the soon to be demolished RFK Stadium.
Like many such projects, there are all sorts of side stories--Leonsis is upset about the lease terms dating from the Abe Pollin era and the state of the Gallery Place neighborhood post-COVID, and has entertained discussions with the Commonwealth of Virginia about vacant land near the Potomac Yard Metro station in Alexandria as a fallback, but the area has limited parking and little or no commercial development. A new arena could easily exceed $1.5 billion, and thus a major renovation is a better option if funding could be secured.
"In sports terminology, if D.C. lets Monumental walk away as a free agent, we'll be losing almost nightly, year-round economic activity - and jobs, housing and ridership for our public transit system would go with it," wrote DC city councilman Charles Allen in August. "It would send the message that we've given up on the downtown of the nation's capital: who wants to open a new store or restaurant or convert a commercial property to apartments in an empty, destabilized Chinatown?"
Capital One Arena generates $341 million in annual economic impact to the city, noted the Post as a post-script to the above commentary.
The planned renovations would be made over four years in the off-season beginning in 2024, similar to the three year, $1 billion renovation of Madison Square Garden that took place between 2010 and 2013.