Georgetown sleep-walked through the first 32 minutes of action against Old Dominion Saturday, waking up too late to make a game of it and suffering its first loss of the season, 61-57.
The game was not as close as it appeared–the Monarchs led most of the way by eight to twelve points, and only a Hoya run made the final score tight. In the first half, the Hoyas committed twelve turnovers and shot an uncharacteristic 30 percent from the field, allowing ODU to build an eleven-point halftime lead that swelled to 18 early in the second half. The Hoyas chipped away, then surged. Greg Monroe hit a free throw to pull Georgetown within two points with 1:16 remaining. After hitting the first of two free-throws, Greg Monroe missed a free-throw that would have cut the margin to one, and the Hoyas could not collect an ODU miss that Frank Hazell tipped in to give the Monarchs the final margin. The Hoyas missed four shots that could have pulled them within one position in the final forty seconds, failing to finish off their short-lived comeback.
There is no shortage of blame for this ugly loss. Chris Wright and Jason Clark were silent until the late stages, finishing just 4 of 14 from the field combined. Julian Vaughn made several absent-minded plays during Georgetown’s belated run and had 5 of the team’s 18 turnovers. Seemingly everyone missed key free throws, including especially costly fron ends of one-and-ones. Worst, the athletic department mocked the gods by inviting the Monarchs back after they beat the Hoyas in McDonough three years ago.
The loss was Georgetown’s second ugly game against slow-paced, grind-it-out teams that don’t seem to mind throwing a wrench in the Hoya offensive machinery. That trend may have implications for Pitt and other similarly physical Big East foes.
The Hoyas return to action Wednesday the 23rd against the suddenly dangerous Harvard Crimson (thankfully, in the Phone Booth).
