Hoyas just short in Senior Day battle
March 8, 2020 - On Senior Day Saturday at Capitol One Arena, the Georgetown Hoyas hosted 14th ranked Villanova’s Wildcats while honoring Jagan Mosley, George Muresan, Terrell Allen and Omer Yurtseven. The visitors prevailed 70-69, though G’Town could easily have won.
Georgetown got off to a slow start on both ends, including not knocking down shots, while Villanova was on fire. Taking the crowd completely out of it early and earning a 28-9 lead, the Wildcats were geared to put this game on ice.
The Hoyas settled down midway through the first half. Junior Forward Jamorko Pickett scored 15 first half points, setting the tone for the Hoyas comeback and displaying a high level of confidence. Head Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing went to his full court press defense, which forced some Wildcat turnovers.
Georgetown outscored Villanova 21-11 to end the half, trailing 39-30 at intermission.
Ewing’s bunch was more poised in the second half, displaying great ball movement, earning a quick 9-0 run, giving the Hoyas their first lead of the game, 41-39.
Villanova had no answer when Georgetown exploited the mismatches inside with the two young centers; freshmen Qudus Wahab (nine points, three rebounds) and Timothy Ighoefe (three points) we’re taking advantage being defended by guards via pick and roll.
Down the stretch, this turned into a back and forth affair. Senior point guard Terrell Allen (17 points, three assists) played huge in the second half, making plays in pick and roll whether scoring or facilitating. Up by one, with 1:01 remaining in the game, Allen hit a clutch three pointer to extend the Hoya lead to four.
Following a layup from VU freshman forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (13 points, seven rebounds), the Hoyas turned the ball over and Villanova Head Coach Jay Wright elected not to call a timeout. Junior forward Jermaine Samuels put up a running layup, that didn’t make it to the rim.
On that play, Pickett was rung up with his fifth personal foul. The initial call was no basket, yet upon further review, the officials changed the call to a goal tend, Samuels (13 points) knocked down the free throw and Villanova had a one point lead with five seconds remaining.
Allen’s runner missed as time expired and the Hoyas came up short.
Pickett was G’Town’s scoring leader with 20 points.
Sophomore forward Saddiq Bey paced Villanova with 18 points including a huge three pointer in the final minutes.
Hoya senior guard Mosley suffered an ankle injury midway through the half, returning to finish his last game in DC. The senior scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half. Ewing was pleased with his efforts today, saying “He’s very important to our team…He embodies Georgetown Basketball.”
The loss drops Georgetown to 15-16 and 5-13 in the Big East.
The win moves Villanova to 24-7 and 13-5 in conference play.
Georgetown will face off against the St. John’s Red Storm on Wednesday March 11 at Madison Square Garden in the first round of the Big East tournament.