Over the Hilltop

Georgetown overcame its worst shooting stretch of the season Saturday, combining defensive discipline and clutch free-throw shooting to eke out a 52-50 win over Rutgers. The Hoyas trailed for nearly the entire game, leading just three times for a combined one and a half minutes. But it was the last lead, brought about by six straight points by freshman Otto Porter, that gave Georgetown the decisive advantage.

It was tough sledding from the get-go for the Hoyas, who made just one field goal in the first six minutes, and just two in the first ten, all while falling behind 13-7. Rutgers brought defensive identity from the opening tip, denying Georgetown on the perimeter, and fishing out the ball from the post. The Hoyas, unable to find the open looks to which they were accustomed, resorted to out-of-rhythm hoists that inevitably bricked. Things didn’t get much better as the half wore on, as Porter’s jumper with 9:39 remaining was the Hoyas’ third and last field goal of the half. Still, Georgetown stayed in it, effectively mixing zone and man defenses to stifle the Scarlet Knight offense.  The Hoyas erased a six-point Rutgers lead and even took the lead on two Nate Lubick free throws with 4:25 remaining. 

Foul shots were the theme of the afternoon, as the flip side of the Scarlet Knights’ defensive tenacity was their relentless fouling. The Hoyas were sent to the line for 18 first-half free throws and, in a welcome recovery from their recent woes, made 14. On the day, Georgetown shot 36 free-throws, making 25 (both second this season only to the Hoyas’ 29-of-42 performance against Howard). Unfortunately, Lubick’s makes were Georgetown’s last points of the half, and a two-point Hoya lead became a five-point disadvantage by the half.

While the Hoyas’ offensive struggles continued into the second half, Rutgers never pulled away, building a lead that never stretched past six. Georgetown, for all its shooting woes, actually played a pretty good game otherwise. A Hoya team that has struggled with turnovers recently committed 14 on Saturday–a number that, while not exactly stingy, was good enough against a sticky-fingered Rutgers defense. And Georgetown continued its recent dominance on the boards, nabbing four more offensive rebounds than Rutgers (even though the Scarlet Knights missed four more shots). Finally, the Hoyas played pretty good defense themselves, holding Rutgers under 38 percent from the field, and to a similarly low number from two. As has been the case several times this season, the Hoya freshmen receive much of the credit for the defensive performance, as Porter, Greg Whittington (7 points, 5 rebounds) and Jabril Trawick (2 points, 2 assists) each brought defensive grit, particularly in the second half.

Tough defense and a brief spout of offensive competence finally got the Hoyas back in the game, tying it at 38 midway through the second half. Ties followed at 40 and 42, followed–at last!–by a Hoya lead, 44-42. Opportunity no sooner appeared than it seemed to slip away, thanks to renewed offensive ineptitude. The Hoyas managed just a point for more than four minutes, while Rutgers rebuilt a five-point lead with barely two minutes to play.

But in a game of shifting fortunes, the pendulum swung once more. The Hoyas locked down on defense and found yet another hero in a season full of them. After a Henry Sims free throw (team highs with 12 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks) made the deficit four, Georgetown got three straight stout defensive stops. Each time, the Hoyas gave the ball to Porter. Lubick stole the ball then arced a beautiful full-court pass to a streaking Porter, who laid the ball in to trim the difference to two. After Jason Clark (11 points, 5 rebounds) drew an offensive foul, Porter hit a mid-range jumper to even the game with barely a minute to play. A perfect defensive possession resulted in a desperation Rutgers three, giving the Hoyas the unlikely chance to win, which Porter converted from the line with eight seconds remaining.

This win, like the one over Providence on New Year’s Eve, is sort of a Rorschach test for the fan’s feelings about the Hoyas. The optimist will assert that the Hoyas, in seasons past a strong offensive team that struggled when their shots weren’t falling, have found new ways to win. To be sure, there’s support for this view. As mentioned above, the Hoyas put in a strong performance on defense and on the boards, weaknesses in seasons gone by. And Georgetown has now won three games in which it has failed to score sixty points (Providence and Alabama being the two others), a feat which it accomplished not at all last year and just once the season before.

Of course, there’s ample material for the pessimist as well. The offensive droughts were excruciating, an echo of struggles throughout this season. With Markel Starks (three points) struggling recently, it’s hard to shake the nagging feeling that the Hoyas are one scorer short. Saturday, that feeling was more than nagging, as the Hoyas shot just 3 of 24 in the first half and less than 30 percent for the game.

Whose view prevails remains to be seen. But Georgetown finished a three-game stretch against inferior but tricky teams: St. John’s with young offensive promise; DePaul with harried pressure; and Rutgers with sticky, grabbing defense. As they should have, the Hoyas won all three. Those wins look all the more essential when looking at the standings where, behind the hated (and, alas, undefeated) Orange, there’s a logjam of five teams with two losses apiece.

Now, Georgetown enjoys a week before traveling to Pittsburgh.  In the meantime, Hoya Saxa.

On Sunday, Georgetown rode a dominant rebounding effort and a hot hand to a road conference victory. Tuesday, the formula was much the same, as the Hoyas relied on Jason Clark’s sharpshooting and team board work en route to a 83-75 win at DePaul.

Clark led all scorers, hitting 11 of 14 shots, 5 of 7 from three, en route to a career-high 31 points. The senior guard re-found his outside stroke, which had eluded him throughout a 4-for-22 three-point slump over the past six games. But he also played to his strengths, slashing to the hoop and pushing the ball in transition. Clark also affected the game in other ways, assuming primary ball-handling duties in the absence of point guard Markel Starks (who was sidelined with a stomach bug), swiping four steals, and grabbing five rebounds.

And Clark wasn’t alone on the glass, as six Hoyas grabbed at least four rebounds over an undersized Blue Demon squad. Leading the charge to the boards was Otto Porter, who grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds, his fifth double-digit rebound game in just eighteen career appearances. Porter continued to show a nose for the ball, also racking up two steals and two blocks even as he struggled through a rough shooting night.

The Hoyas particularly thrived on the offensive boards, where more Hoya misses found their way into Hoya hands (17) than into those of the Blue Demons (15). Senior post Henry Sims generated the most second chances, grabbing four offensive rebounds and seven misses over all while also scoring 13 16 points.

It wasn’t all good news for Georgetown, which struggled to cope with DePaul’s frenetic pace. The Blue Demons forced 18 Hoya turnovers, most in their full-court press. While Porter gave the ball away a team-high five times, the miscues were fairly evenly distributed. Some of the mistakes were to be expected: the Blue Demons thrive on taking the ball away in the full-court press. What’s more, the Hoyas were without Starks, frequently Georgetown’s lead guard, making the DePaul pressure all the more daunting. Even so, Georgetown’s tendency to fork the ball over was troubling, made all the more so by DePaul’s ability to capitalize on those mistakes. Those mistakes allowed DePaul runs that kept the Hoyas from pulling away in a contest they led nearly wire to wire.

DePaul also managed to stay close because Georgetown could not hit free throws. Clark missed five of his nine tries, while Hollis Thompson (14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) bricked both of his. As a team, the Hoyas hit just 16 of their 28 free throws, continuing a five-game slump in which they have made just 61 percent of their free throws.

Even so, Georgetown put the game away. After DePaul rattled off eight straight points without the Hoyas advancing the ball past half-court, the lead stood at just 48-46, and the sparse Blue Demon crowd had come to its feet, cheering through the Hoya timeout. But a pair of offensive put-backs, one by Thompson and another by Greg Whittington (five rebounds, four points), sandwiched around a Clark fast-break lay-in, made the advantage eight. Georgetown was never really threatened again, stretching the lead to 14 before holding on for the win.

For those prone to complain about the state of Hoya hoops, games at DePaul are a sobering reminder of what could be. These contests are observed by a few thousand in a soulless facility, far closer to the airport than campus, where banners tout the achievements of minor league hockey and arena football squads. During a visiting team’s run, the loud clapping of a few opposing fans echoes, making the meager home crowd seem all the more so. On Tuesday, it was evident that the DePaul faithful, supporters of a team so long the laughingstock of the Big East, desperately want their team to matter again. For a while, the Blue Demons looked ready to satisfy that yearning, scoring in bunches and swarming with full-court pressure. But, whatever their errors throughout the game, the Hoyas got just enough offense from Clark and just enough work on the glass to keep DePaul at arm’s length.

The two-game, two-win road trip means the Hoyas held serve while five other Big East teams teams also have two conference losses. Now, the Hoyas return to their home court, where on Saturday they’ll face a young Rutgers squad that already has beaten a pair of top-10 teams at home while compiling a 3-3 conference mark. In the meantime, Hoya Saxa.

Georgetown wrapped the game on a 21-4 run Sunday afternoon, putting away a tense game with stingy defense and selfless offense. The closing effort impressively punctuated an otherwise uneven game.

Georgetown started the game slowly, scoring just five points over the first eight minutes. The Hoyas settled for three-pointers, several from well beyond the stripe, as the Red Storm racked up transition baskets, building an eight-point lead. But just when pessimism was setting in, the Hoyas’ offense began to click. Jason Clark hit a three out of the timeout, then Henry Sims rattled off five straight points out of the post and short corner. The made baskets allowed to Georgetown to set up its zone, which proved tremendously effective against a St. John’s squad that made nothing all day from deep. The Red Storm went scoreless for more than six minutes, and managed just six more points before the half. For its point, Georgetown shot just 31 percent from the field for the half, and so couldn’t pull away. Still, ten offensive rebounds gave the Hoyas enough extra possessions to take a 25-19 lead into intermission.

In the second half, the Hoyas cracked the St. John’s zone. Georgetown moved the ball more crisply, finding plenty of open looks by weak-side ball reversals. Those clean shots went down, as the Hoyas shot 55 percent from the field after the break. Hollis Thompson led the charge, scoring all 20 of his points in the second half, almost entirely from beyond the arc, where Hollywood hit five treys, and on the break, where he hit a pair of layups.

In addition to improved shooting, Georgetown’s second half offensive surge was fueled by a continued assault on the offensive glass, where the Hoyas gathered eight second-half extra possessions other the top of the Red Storm’s over-matched zone. In all, more Hoya misses were grabbed by the Hoyas themselves (18) than by St. John’s (15). Greg Whittington (8 points, 8 rebounds) and Otto Porter (13 points, 10 rebounds) were particularly aggressive on the glass, gathering six and five offensive rebounds, respectively.

Still, St. John’s hung around, as a pair of Red Storm free throws made the deficit just three with six minutes and change remaining. But then everything the Hoyas did well to that point coalesced. The defensive pressure continued, good ball movement led to easy baskets for whoever was open (five Hoyas scored in the closing kick), and the offensive glass continued to provide easy second chances. At the same time, Georgetown’s main foil, St. John’s freshman stud Moe Harkless (21 points, 10 rebounds), fouled out, leaving the Red Storm without a go-to offensive option. In the end, Georgetown turned a tight game into a seeming blowout, leaving Madison Square Garden with a road win, all the more crucial in the Big East, in which seven of the sixteen teams finished the weekend with two conference losses.  The Hoyas will stay on the road, traveling to Chicago where on Tuesday they’ll face a DePaul squad on the rise. Hoya Saxa.

Georgetown shot itself in the feet over, and over, and over again Monday, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory en route to a 68-64 loss to Cincinnati. The loss was more vexing than most, as it was caused almost entirely by the Hoyas’ own mental mistakes.

Despite their errors, the Hoyas led for much of the game, building a 59-53 lead with just under six minutes remaining. But then they just collapsed, failing to score another field goal until a meaningless last-second lay-up. They left points, possessions, and other opportunities on the floor in every way imaginable. Careless, timid, and half-hearted passes lead to pointless turnovers, 17 in all. Missed defensive assignments allowed Bearcat guards Sean Kilpatrick and Dion Dixon to shake free time and again for 27 and 22 points, respectively, belying the Hoyas’ supposed defensive improvement. And the Hoyas’ offensive woes and mental miscues down the stretch debunked any rumors about their clutch play.

There are two particularly unfortunate aspects of this debacle. The first is that it wasn’t all bad: Georgetown actually shot well for most of the game, making 59 percent overall despite the late-game slump. Jason Clark and Hollis Thompson shot a combined 11 of 13 from the floor, netting 14 points apiece, though each missed his last shot and was largely absent down the stretch. And Nate Lubick had a strong performance, finishing with eight points and eight rebounds, and establishing a nice high-low combination with Otto Porter that led to several baskets. Hot shooting from Georgetown’s two leading scorers combined with solid contributions from the young guys should lead to a win.

But the slip-ups were simply too many, bringing us to the second especially irritating detail: the team’s veterans were largely to blame for the late-game collapse. Seniors Clark and Henry Sims led the Hoyas in turnovers, committing nine between them, while Clark and, especially, Thompson simply disappeared with the game on the line. Also among those veterans facing criticism should be JTIII. The squad repeatedly looked out-of-sorts coming out of second-half timeouts, failing to execute any discernible play, including one in the last minute with the game on the line. Ultimately, an 11-2 stretch “run” by the Bearcats over nearly six minutes spelled doom for the Hoyas.

The Hoyas now have suffered back-to-back losses against teams that seem to thrive on making the game frustrating. The thrilling last-minute wins, miraculous comebacks, and winning streaks all seem to be a distant memory, rather than one of three days ago. At the very minimum, the shoe’s on the other foot. The flaws we all knew were lingering–the lack of a truly reliable veteran, the unproven depth–bore their heads over the past four halves. And the supposed virtues of youth, length, and confidence all seem a bit more tenuous. Morning, and looking forward to the next game (and, in the case of the players a few days of needed rest and practice beforehand) probably will bring calmer nerves, a bit more perspective, and maybe even a refreshed optimism. But for now, we’ll just lick our self-inflicted wounds.

Georgetown’s eleven-game winning streak came to a grinding halt Saturday as the Hoyas fell to West Virgina, 74-62. The Hoyas led 4-0 but, despite a few ties, never again, trailing by multiple possessions for most of the choppy contest against a physical Mountaineer squad. Georgetown could never get in an offensive rhythm, committing a slew of first-half turnovers while shooting just 40 percent from the field.

Still, the margin was just two points at intermission, and three with less than ten minutes remaining. But the lead soon swelled to eleven as West Virginia kept the Hoyas out of sync, and gradually pulled away. While a late run spurred by Georgetown’s full-court press pulled the Hoyas within four, the Mountaineers iced the game at the free-throw line. 

As usual, West Virginia was led by its two seniors. Forward Kevin Jones, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder on the season, notched 22 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Georgetown held him relatively in check on the offensive boards, where he grabbed just three rebounds, two below his season average. But the Hoyas offered him plenty of bricks to pluck off the defensive boards, and he seized the opportunity. On offense, Jones did what he wanted to, using his wide 6’8″ frame to score in the lane, mid-range, and even from three. Fellow senior Darryl “Truck” Bryant led all scorers with 25 points, 19 of which game in the second half.

Georgetown, for its part, had plenty of contributions from its upperclassmen. Hollis Thompson led all Hoyas with 20 points, while Jason Clark and Henry Sims added 10 apiece. Clark and Sims, though not enjoying their best days from the field, also contributed in other ways, with Clark picking up five steals and two blocks, and Sims gathering five rebounds and handing out six assists.

But, with Sims shooting just 3 of 10 from the field and Clark missing all 4 of this three-pointers, no other Hoya stepped up offensively. Nate Lubick had a pair of buckets but then fouled out in just 15 minutes of action, and Markel Starks and the four freshmen combined to shoot just 6 of 20 from the field. The Hoyas particularly struggled from the three-point line, where they made just 2 of 14 heaves.

West Virginia has vexed Georgetown in recent years, having won five straight against the Hoyas dating back to the 2008-09 season. The Hoyas struggle to adapt to the Mountaineers’ grinding, physical brand of ball. For brief stretches of each half Saturday, JTIII seemed to find the answer, employing a full-court pressure that forced the young West Virginia guards into several turnovers. But the veteran guard Bryant was more adept at handling the press, easily passing over and around the Hoyas’ attack. On offense, Georgetown seemed to mostly score on broken plays, as Clark and Thompson sought out their shots outside the typical offensive sets.

Of the eleven straight it rattled off, Georgetown won four by three points or fewer. Those thin margins, combined with the tough match-up against West Virginia and the hostile arena, finally caught up with the Hoyas Saturday. But the Hoyas have little time to navel-gaze after the loss, as they return to action Monday night against a talented if inconsistent Cincinnati team. A preview of that game follows tomorrow morning.