Renewed Hope? Hoyas Start Second Half of Season On Positive Note, Defeat Providence
Chudier Bile scored a season-high 19 points to break a five-game losing streak for the Hoyas, and knock the Friars off of the bubble.
*Rich Chvotkin voice*
Hoyas Win! Hoyas Win! Hoyas Win!
After three long weeks, the Hoyas returned to the hardwood on Saturday afternoon, and came away with a bumpy, but thrilling, 73-72 win over Providence, to bring them to 4-8 on the season.
The loss was a particularly bad one for the Friars, who were hoping to play their way into an NCAA Tournament bid, but after losing to the Hoyas, now find themselves likely off the bubble.
Chudier Bile showed up in a big way for the Hoyas, scoring a team-high 19 points, along with nine rebounds. Bile didn’t shoot well, going 4-for-12 from the field, but made up for it by shooting twelve (12) free throws, and making 10 of them.
A major reason for the struggles of the Friars? Providence star David Duke had an uncharacteristically quiet game, scoring just 5 points on 2-of-11 shooting. Coming into the game, Duke was averaging 19.5 points per game.
Duke’s fellow junior teammate A.J. Reeves tried to make up for Duke’s poor performance, scoring a career-high 28 points, including 22 in the first half, but it wasn’t enough.
The Hoyas trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half, but managed to cut the deficit to just four points, 42-38, at halftime. Coming off of a long layoff, the hosts were predictably slow to start the game, as the Friars jumped out quickly to a 10-0 lead, perhaps influenced by Patrick Ewing’s decision to start sophomore center Timothy Ighoefe over fellow sophomore center Qudus Wahab.
A Chudier Bile three-pointer gave Georgetown its first lead of the game at the 19:14 mark of the second half. Bile, who had struggled to play with much consistency so far as a Hoya, certainly looked more comfortable out there on Saturday, driving to the basket aggressively and drawing contact, while playing with his usual trademark high energy.
“I feel like I'm starting to get more comfortable with the system and knowing how to attack and how to get my shots,” said Bile after the game.
The end of the game was anything but straightforward, however. After David Duke scored on a fastbreak dunk, the Friars were up 69-68 with 2:16 left.
A Qudus Wahab jumper put the Hoyas back up, 70-69, and then two Jahvon Blair free throws expanded the lead to three points with 16 seconds left. Surely, the game would be over by then, right?
Nope.
Providence freshman Alyn Breed scored with six seconds left, making it 72-71, and then after Bile made only one of two free throws on the other end, David Duke raced down the floor and was fouled by Blair while shooting a long two.
It was a questionable foul call, but was a classic case of the Heart Attack Hoyas experiencing some late-game bad luck once again.
Luckily, Duke would miss the second free throw, and Wahab rebounded the miss to seal the game.
"It was a great win for us,” said Patrick Ewing. “That's one of the things I talked about with my guys, that we showed some growth today. We always talk about basketball as a game of runs. They jumped on us early, we went down 15. We fought back, cut it to four, but we didn't give up there.
Links
Providence Journal - Georgetown 73, Providence 72: Friars squander early lead, fall
Washington Post - Back in action at last, Georgetown holds off Providence to snap its five-game skid
Georgetown Voice - Men’s basketball triumphs in a thriller against Providence
Big East Coast Bias - Georgetown escapes in defeat of Providence
Casual Hoya - Un-Paused: Hoyas hang on for a win over the Friars, 73-72
Thompson’s Towel - Quarantine Comeback: At Long Last, Hoyas Win
Top Tweets
Upcoming
Next, the Hoyas travel to good ol’ Omaha, Nebraska to take on the #17 Creighton Bluejays (13-4, 9-3 Big East). The Bluejays flirted with disaster on the road against DePaul on Saturday night, trailing the Blue Demons late, before going on a 10-2 run to close the game and escape with a victory, by a score of 69-62.
Marcus Zegarowski led the Jays in scoring and assists, with 19 points and five assists.
After Wednesday, Georgetown will have six days off before it takes on…the Creighton Bluejays! This time, at home.