Austin Freeman scored 20 points, but could not hit a crucial short jumper late, and Georgetown fell to Marquette 62-59 Wednesday night in Milwaukee. The Golden Eagles got by on outside shooting (12 3PT made) and by hustling on the glass (+4 rebound margin, +6 offensive rebound margin), and by the stroke of guard David Cubillan, who sank all six of the 3 balls he chucked.
Those looking for a half-full glass might look at the fact that Marquette came out fast but, unlike last year, the Hoyas didn’t fold. The Golden Eagles pushed their early lead to eight as the Hoyas failed to score on their first five possessions, and nine of their first twelve, turning the ball over five teams in that stretch. Georgetown kept the game close, though, and went into the half down just two thanks to eight first-half points by Julian Vaughn and nine by Chris Wright. Vaughn’s lay-in tied the game early in the second half, and free-throws by Freeman gave Georgetown its first lead, 39-37. A see-saw ensued, with Georgetown enjoying its last lead at 50-48 after a Freeman lay-up.
The crucial sequence, unsurprisingly, came in the last two minutes. After Greg Monroe’s jumper pulled the Hoyas within one, 58-57, Chris Wright nabbed a steal. Monroe got position in the post, and seemed to get the ball via a lob. He couldn’t fight off a double-team, though, and the Eagles swiped the rock back. On defense, Georgetown forced a bad three by Dwight Buycks, and had two defenders, including Monroe, on the far side of the rim, poised for the board. Lazar Hayward somehow grabbed the board over the two Hoyas, though, drew a foul, and sank both free-throws. Unable to control the ball on offense, Monroe could not block out on the much shorter Hayward on defense.
Freeman made a lay-up to cut the deficit to 60-59, and Maurice Acker missed the front end of a one-and-one to give the Hoyas the ball and a chance with :29 on the clock. For reasons beyond me, JTIII elected not to use his last time-out. Freeman penetrated, then shot an off-balance eight footer that, had he pivoted, might have been a lay-in. Marquette rebounded, made two free-throws, then defended Wright’s errant three as the clock ran out.
Despite his ill-advised last shot, Freeman was the main reason the Hoyas were in the game: he hit shot after shot in the second half, and dished six assists to boot. Wright and Jason Clark struggled from the field in the second half, and Monroe struggled to hold onto the ball (four turnovers).
Some questions linger going forward. Why, in such a close game, does our lottery-pick-to-be only take six shots (the same number he took against DePaul)? Why can he not take charge of the game, either on offense or defense, when the situation demands as much? Why, with the game on the line in front of a hostile crowd, does our coach not use his last timeout to diagram a play?
Ultimately, it was a disappointing, but not dispiriting, loss. We took a good (but not great) team to the wire in a very tough arena, took their best shot (the three-point barrage was unbelievable; Marquette was 12-26 from three and 9-28 from two), and nearly emerged with a win.
The Hoyas have to dust themselves off; Connecticut awaits Saturday.
Marquette is loaded with athletic guards, and there perimeter D is superb. G’town needs to learn how to penetrate it and get the ball down low more. It’s a good learning experience now, so smaller teams won’t be able to exploit it in more crucial games.