Chu Chu: Bile Leads Georgetown to Road Win Over #15 Creighton

Georgetown picked up its biggest win of the season in a surprisingly dominant road performance over a ranked opponent.

Behind a combined 38 points from Georgetown seniors Jahvon Blair (22 points) and Jamorko Pickett (16 points), and another outstanding performance from graduate transfer forward Chudier Bile (17 points and six rebounds), Georgetown defeated #15 Creighton, 86-79, on Wednesday night.

The win was Georgetown’s first against a ranked opponent this season.

Coming in as 14-point underdogs, the visitors from Washington, DC only trailed for a combined 1:43, which all came before the 14:07 mark of the first half.

The Hoyas benefitted from sloppy play in the first half by Creighton, in the Bluejay’s annual Creighton vs. Cancer Pink Out game.

Creighton had nine turnovers in the first half, and got only four first half points from star guard Marcus Zegarowski, who shot 2-of-7 from the field. Zegarowski would finish with 14 points on 4-of-11 shooting.

Denzel Mahoney was Creighton’s leading scorer with 22 points, along with four rebounds and four assists.

The Hoyas led by as many as 11 points in the first half, and were buoyed by a 57.1% field goal percentage in the first half, which included going 8-of-13 first half three-point attempts.

Jamorko Pickett gave Georgetown its 11-point cushion when he knocked down back-to-back three-pointers with 2:56 remaining in the first half.

The Bluejays wouldn’t back down though, going on an 8-0 run before the half, cutting the Georgetown lead to 44-39 at halftime after a runner by Don Carey at the buzzer managed to snap the run for Bluejays and give the Hoyas some momentum heading into halftime.

Knowing Georgetown, it was never going to be a smooth ride in the second half, and sure enough, Creighton tied the game just 2:42 into the half on a Marcus Zegarowski three-pointer, knotting the score at 44 apiece.

But this game was different for Georgetown. In a season that has been full of big leads that have been choked away in the second half, the Hoyas were determined to hold onto this one and close out a talented opponent on the road. They took Creighton’s punches, and responded with their own.

Chudier Bile was a monster in the second half, scoring 15 of his 17 points in the second half, and pulling down five of his six total rebounds in the second frame. Whenever the Hoyas needed a key rebound, a stop, or a bucket, Bile, who was inserted into the starting lineup against Creighton, seemed to be in the right place at the right time.

After Creighton cut the Georgetown lead to six points on a Christian Bishop reverse dunk, Patrick Ewing called timeout. After the timeout, it was Bile who helped stem the tide, and hit a jumper in the paint put his team back up by eight with 4:22 to play.

It was also Bile who grabbed the offensive rebound off a missed shot by Qudus Wahab, which then led to a Jahvon Blair desperation banked three-pointer with the clock at zero, to make it 79-70, and effectively put the game away at that point.

“Anyway I can get it, I’m going to take it,” said Patrick Ewing about Blair’s bank shot, after the game. “It was a great shot, a tough shot. Jahvon’s one of our best shooters. I’m just happy it went in.”

After a second consecutive quality performance from Bile, Ewing was asked if it would be hard to keep him out of the starting lineup moving forward, to which he smiled and said, “Oh yes, I think so.”

What might have been another miserable late-game collapse for the Hoyas was instead a sign of impressive growth for this team, as the visitors were able to close out their opponent in the second half despite only leading by mostly single digits in the second half.

“The best thing [tonight] is when we make the mistakes, we stopped dwelling on it, and we moved on to the next play,” said Ewing.

Perhaps the most satisfying part about the win from Georgetown’s perspective is that it wasn’t because of a particularly bad performance from the Jays.

Creighton still shot 47% from the field and 38% from three. The Hoyas only had three more total rebounds than the Bluejays did. And Creighton had 15 turnovers, just two more than Georgetown.

This win was a result of spectacular play from the visiting side. While they did turn the ball over 13 times, the Hoyas shot 10-of-21 from three (48%), 50% from the field, and 75% from the free throw line. They executed at a high level, and deserved their winning result tonight.

“Hopefully this will be a signature win for us,” added Ewing.

The Hoyas will have a chance to pick up another signature win on Sunday, when they travel to take on #3 Villanova. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 PM.