Your Georgetown Hoyas suffered a massive loss off-the-court today as news broke of Coach Louis Orr’s untimely passing. The team nevertheless had a game to play against the Sean Miller-led Xavier Musketeers. Despite a gutty effort, the Hoyas dropped their Big East opener 102-89 and extended their Big East losing streak to 21 games.
Xavier blitzed the Hoyas early with Zach Freemantle setting up shop in the paint, and Souley Boum and Jack Nunge scoring outside. The Hoyas had few answers to Xavier’s physical man-to-man defense, with Qudus Wahab noticeably struggling to finish at the rim. Xavier led 10-2 at the 3-minute mark before a Patrick Ewing timeout.
The Hoyas righted the ship by turning Xavier over and aggressive play from Primo Spears and Jay Heath. Xavier nevertheless led 15-10 at the first televised timeout. A Spears mid-range jumper brought the Hoyas within 2, but the Hoyas were unable to take advantage of Freemantle’s early foul trouble, and Xavier’s advantage stood at 4 with 12 minutes let in the half.
Coach Ewing then turned to his bench. Wayne Bristol fed Bradley Ezewiro for a loud dunk, and the Hoyas frustrated Xavier by deploying a zone defense. Another Ezewiro dunk would give the Hoyas a brief lead at the 10-minute mark before Colby Jones tied matter up for the Musketeers, keying an 8-0 run. The score was 33-29 with 5 minutes left in the half as the Hoyas were able to keep the game close thanks to multiple Xavier turnovers. The Hoyas could have inched closer in the first half’s closing minutes, but the Hoyas had several lapses of concentration, including an intercepted inbounds pass, and several missed free throws.
Xavier led Georgetown 43-38 at intermission. Wahab and Spears were the Hoyas’ offensive standouts with 11 and 8 points respectively. The Hoyas took excellent care of the basketball with only 2 turnovers but shot only 1 from 7 from 3-point range.
Jay Heath ensured a good start to the second half with 2 quick free throws and a 3-pointer. An Akok Akok 3 would cut the Musketeers’ lead to 1 before Nunge outworked Akok and Heath for a putback and 3-point play. The score stood at 55-48 after an Adam Kunkel 3-pointer and an emphatic Freemantle dunk. Despite energetic play and strong support from the fans in attendance, the Hoyas struggled to make further inroads. Defense at the rim was a particular point of concern, as back-to-back uncontested scores allowed Xavier to edge ahead 72-59 with 12 minutes left in…
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