After a nick and tuck game, one that was knotted at 31 during intermission, Georgetown grinded out a nine point lead with just over three minutes to play. Junior guard L.J. Peak’s layup set their advantage over visiting Maryland with just 71 ticks on the clock in regulation to a comfortable seven. It looked as if the Hoyas would march to 2-0, avenging a tough loss to these same Terps early last season.
It wouldn’t happen; the Hoyas squandered their lead, Maryland took advantage of its opportunities, walking out of Verizon Center with a stunning 76-75 win. An announced crowd of over 13,000 witnessed it, one in which partisans at various times out-cheered the other school's.
What happened?
“Just too many mental errors down at the end” said Head Hoya John Thompson III afterward, clearly emotionally drained from watching his team collapse. Summing, he noted “We put them in a position to win that game”.
That includes two turnovers during the last 1:11, the last being junior guard Tre Campbell’s sideline foot fault with eight seconds left. Interestingly enough, Maryland’s head coach Mark Turgeon ordered a foul in that situation, but his team didn’t respond.
“This is how crazy basketball is. Let’s think about this” recalled Turgeon. “I’m yelling ‘Foul’ at the top of my lungs. ‘Foul’. We don’t foul on the double team, he dribbles out of bounds”.
A second or so later on the resulting Maryland inbounds play, another crushing mistake was made, this time Peak (21 points) fouling Melo Trimble more than 80 feet from the rim. Given its standing as G’Town’s 12th infraction of the second half, Trimble was awarded two free throws, sinking them both and giving his team the final margin of victory.
Georgetown (1-1) had one more opportunity, but freshman guard Jagan Mosely’s layup attempt was blocked with a second remaining by hustling freshman guard Kevin Huerter. He and Mosely had six points, five rebounds and three points, two board, two assists, respectively.
Junior guard Trimble led all scorers with 22 points for Maryland (2-0), who as a team shot 44.8% overall, yet only 25.9% from three point land. The victors managed 77.3% on free throws, while getting 17 points from freshman Justin Jackson and five assists, five rebounds and 11 points via freshman guard Anthony Cowan.
The Hoyas made 32% of their shots, sank 40% on long balls while shooting an impressive 88.1% from the charity stripe. In fact, during the fateful minute and 11 seconds, all of the team’s points were free throws, where they made five of six.
Graduate student forward Rodney Pryor joined Peak in double figure scoring with 14 points, also pulling down six boards. Junior forward Isaac Copeland paced the game with 13 caroms, scoring an equal number of points. Sophomore center Jessie Govan logged 12 points and three rebounds.
Next up for Thompson’s guys is a tangle with Arkansas State. Two challenges jump out for the Hoyas; they must win against a motivated opponent with just a day in between games, while also playing not in Verizon Center but on campus at venerable McDonough Arena. It's a 630p EST, Thursday tip.
With a team defining new roles, incorporating new pieces and having just finished its second game this season, Thompson seemed to take the long view, sharing “I’m not taking anything away from their defensive effort and their focus coming down the stretch…I think we played well for long stretches. Then at the end we have a lot of things we can learn from”.
Maryland is off until Sunday, when they host Towson at 2p EST.
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