DUEL TO THE END: Georgetown Hoyas, Peavy Leave it All in Loss at Desperate Xavier, 74-69

Coming off their fifth BIG EAST win of the season against Butler last week, your Georgetown Hoyas returned to action to face the Xavier Musketeers. Xavier entered the game after falling to Creighton in Omaha over the weekend. Earlier in the year, Georgetown bested Xavier by six points at Capital One Arena behind 26 points from Malik Mack. However, the Hoyas’ recent losing skid dropped them into a four-way tie for fifth place in the BIG EAST with Providence, Villanova, and Xavier. Notably, Jayden Epps missed his second straight game.

Right out of the gate, the Hoyas looked to Thomas Sorber (17PTS, 3REB, 2AST, 2BLK) early and often, and the six-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week delivered, scoring Georgetown’s first six points around the rim. Despite Sorber’s early success, both teams appeared rusty, committing a pair of turnovers each just five minutes into the game. After the under-16 timeout, Drew Fielder (3PTS, 6REB) got in on the scoring with a three from the wing, and the Georgetown bigs controlled the offense as the Hoyas opened up a 16-12 lead 10 minutes into the game.

While the Hoyas’ offense struggled to find its rhythm, their defense was once again the story early on. Georgetown forced Xavier into tough shots and turnovers—so much so that Xavier head coach Sean Miller burned a timeout to settle his team with just under 10 minutes left in the half.

For Georgetown, Micah Peavy (27PTS, 4REB, 4AST) was the standout late in the first half. It felt like there were three of him on the court. He was everywhere on defense, which comes as no surprise to Hoyas fans who have watched him develop into one of the best defenders the program has seen in the last decade—if not in school history. Peavy’s defensive energy translated to the offensive end, as he drilled a couple of threes and extended the Hoyas’ lead to 22-16 at the under-eight timeout, prompting the Xavier coaching staff to take out their frustration on a clipboard.

Out of the timeout, Sean Miller fired up his squad, and Xavier responded with an 8-0 run to tie the game. The energy in the Cintas Center began to build as the Musketeers closed the half on a 14-2 run….