Mistakes doom Hoyas in Atlantis

November 28, 2014 - Though they were down by 13 in the first half, Georgetown whittled that deficit to 31-27 at intermission, even taking a one point lead with around eight and a half minutes remaining in the second period of this Battle 4 Atlantis third/fourth placed game. Unfortunately the Hoyas couldn't pull it out, falling 64-58 to BIG EAST foe Butler.

G'Town must blame itself for the loss.

Take the turnovers; Georgetown was credited with 14 giveaways. Butler had 10, a difference that is meaningful in close games.

Then there were the missed free throws; John Thompson III's team left nine charity strip chances on the floor, going an ugly 10-19 (52.6%) from the line. The only Hoyas to shoot more than 50% on free throws were junior guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera (4-4) and freshman forward Paul White, the latter notching a 2-2 mark. Conversely, Butler hit 16-21 of their free throws, for 76.2%.

Functioning as de facto turnovers were mental lapses. Nowhere was that as evident as at the 5:11 mark, when White committed a turnover and six seconds later junior guard Kellen Dunham was putting the ball in the basket via fast break three pointer, breaking a 55 all tie. At 4:18 Dunham scored another fast break bucket, this time a layup. Both of Dunham's scores were facilitated by transition defense breakdowns for Georgetown. The Hoyas could only shrink their deficit to three going forward.

A Blue and Grey bright spot was freshman forward Isaac Copeland. The Raleigh, NC native came off the bench to score 16 points and snag four rebounds in 24 minutes of play. Thompson rewarded Copeland, who shot 7-10 and led G'town in scoring, with a second half start.

White chipped in 13 points and three blocks, the last stat indicating his solid defensive play. Smith-Rivera followed with 12 points. Senior center Joshua Smith led Georgetown (4-2) and the game in rebounding, snagging a game high nine caroms.

Dunham paced the Bulldogs (5-1) by scoring 16 points. Senior point guard Alex Barlow followed with 11 points, both being joined in double figure scoring by freshman forward Kelan Martin's 10 points. Senior forward Roosevelt Jones battled his way to a team high seven rebounds.

Butler next travels to Indiana State, an interesting intra-state matchup. December 3rd, 705p is the tip off.

Thompson's guys are off until December 7th, when the Baltimore area's Towson makes the hour long trip to Verizon Center. Jump ball is at Noon.

For the record Georgetown and Butler meet again on January 17th, at Verizon Center. It affords the Blue and Grey an chance to avenge a lost opportunity in the Bahamas.