Georgetown (15-14, 5-11) came into the game hanging on to NCAA hopes by a thread but that might have ended today with a 66-63 loss to Xavier (18-10, 7-8).
Despite not having Mac McClung and Omer Yurtseven, the Hoyas hung tough. “For coach Ewing to have the success that he’s had with those guys out is a testament to him ,”said Xavier coach Travis Steele
Jahvon Blair hit a three-pointer with 1:10 left that tied the game. Xavier’s Naji Marshall gave the Muskateers the lead back with two free throws But Georgetown tied it right back up on a Timothy Ighoefe tip in.
But DMV native Marshall had the final word. Despite good defense, Marshall would hit a deep three with 3.9 seconds left. “We tied the game with minutes ago, then he (Marshall) made that incredible shot,” said Ewing. The Hoyas had one more chance but Allen missed a three at the buzzer.
Georgetown started the second half scoring the first five points of the half cutting Xavier’s lead to one at 28-27. They Hoyas had a chance to take the lead when Allen through the ball inside to a wide open Wahab but the freshman big man dropped the ball out of bounds.
Xavier took advantage of the Hoya mishap by scoring the next seven points pushing the lead back to eight.
Later in the half Blair’s three pulled Georgetown to within 3 and the Muskateers responded again. This time it was a four point burst when they got several offensive rebounds.
Down the stretch, Xavier’s Tyrique Jones and Marshall scored their last 20 points of the game. Jones scored 12 in a row followed by Marshall’s eight points that closed the show. Jones’ run was particularly impressive. He had a jumper, dunk, dunk, dunk, jumper and layup. “When he’s going he’s the heart and soul of our team,” said Steele.
The Hoyas started off the game 2-13. That led to a 13-0 run (16-3 overall) as the Hoyas fell behind 16-5. But from that point, both teams spent the rest of the half struggling from the floor.
For Georgetown it was a mix of bad shooting and turnovers. The Hoyas ended the half shooting 29%. They turned the ball over nine times in the first 20 minutes. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Jamorko Pickett, Jagan Mosely, Terrell Allen and Qudus Wahab all ended the half with two fouls. At one point, Ewing had a lineup of Mosely, Jahvon Blair, Timothy Ighoefe, Jaden Robinson and George Muresan. To be fair that lineup did outscore Xavier 5-0 but there’s no way the Hoyas can live that lineup for an extended period of time.
At least Georgetown had an excuse for struggling on offense. Xavier shot selection was their biggest problem. After building a lead, the Muskateers spent the rest of the half shooting deep threes and complaining to the referees about being fouled inside. They also had a turnover problem, committing twelve of them in the half.
It’s the main reason why Xavier’s lead at halftime was only 28-22.
