Bowen backs up claim
Bowen's Basket Helps Lift Georgetown Past No. 5/6 Louisville, 53-51
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WASHINGTON - Georgetown University junior guard Aaron Bowen (Jacksonville, Fla./QEA [N.C.]) told Head Coach John Thompson III that he was going to get an important rebound during the team's 53-51 win over No. 5/6 Louisville on Saturday at Verizon Center in front of 17.474 fans.
Bowen picked a perfect time for it, tipping back a missed shot with his left hand for an acrobatic layup with 3:38 left in the game, giving the Hoyas a 52-50 lead and scoring what proved to be the winning basket as GU posted its second win of the week over a ranked team, including a 63-47 win over No. 23 Notre Dame on Monday.
Sophomore forward Otto Porter Jr. (Morley, Mo./Scott County Central) recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while junior guard Markel Starks (Accokeek, Md./Georgetown Prep) scored 17 points, junior forward Nate Lubick (Southborough, Mass./St. Marks) added six points and four rebounds and sophomore guard Jabril Trawick (Philadelphia, Pa./Abington Friends) added four points and a career-high eight rebounds.
Georgetown, winners of four of its last five games, improves to 14-4 overall and 4-3 in the BIG EAST, while Louisville falls to 16-4 overall and 4-3 in league play.
The Hoyas jumped out to a four-point lead at the half (33-29), but Louisville out-scored GU 8-2 over the first 3:25 of the second half and took a 37-35 lead on a three-pointer from Luke Hancock. A jumper from Porter Jr. tied the game at 37-all and started a 9-2 Georgetown run over 8:15 as the Hoyas took a 45-39 lead on a jumper from Starks with 9:02 left to play.
Louisville fought back and tied the game at 48-all on a dunk from Gorgui Dieng with 5:40 to play in the game and the teams traded the lead back and forth. A tip-in from Lubick at 4:35 gave the Hoyas a 50-48 lead, but a layup from Dieng tied it at 50-all.
Bowen, who played 15 minutes and had three rebounds, picked the perfect time for his only basket of the game. Freshman guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera (Indianapolis, Ind./Oak Hill), who scored five points and was only 1-of-10 from the field, drove to the basket but missed a layup and Bowen came in from the right side and tipped the ball from the left side with his left hand and it hit high off the backboard and dropped in, giving the Hoyas the lead for good.
The Hoyas, who have held 12 of 18 opponents to under 60 points, forced Louisville to miss five shots in the last 3:20 and held on to a 52-51 lead. After a pair of missed Cardinals shots with less than 10 seconds left, Porter Jr. grabbed the rebound and hit one of two free throws to seal the win.
Georgetown had opened up the game on fire, hitting 8-of-10 shots, and opened up a 24-15 lead on a Porter Jr. three-pointer at the 9:05 mark. Louisville climbed back in and narrowed the gap to two points, 31-29, on a layup from Dieng, but Lubick's layup gave GU a 33-29 lead at the break.
The Hoyas shot 38.8 percent from the floor (19-of-49), but held a 34-29 advantage on the boards.
The Hoyas return to Verizon Center this Wednesday, Jan. 30 as they take on Seton Hall in a BIG EAST Conference matchup. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will be shown live on MASN.