December 28, 2017 - Throughout the season, Georgetown has witnessed halftime leads be reduced during the last 20 minutes, this despite the level of competition faced. Playing a lesser out of conference schedule masked it to a degree – except for Syracuse wins were still secured. But make no doubt about it, the Hoyas have shown a tendency to let opponents back in games, or at a minimum gain steam.
Last night unfortunately was not different, as Georgetown fell 91-89 to Butler in double overtime, before a stated crowd of 9,257. The Hoyas are 10-2 overall, 0-1 in the BIG East, while BU's Bulldogs, in their first league game, stand 11-3/1-0.
G’Town’s fade was precipitous; up 42-24 at intermission, the Hoyas were outscored 51-33 during the second half. Butler took it’s first lead with 1:31 in the back stanza, and enjoyed a scoring advantage for only 35 seconds throughout.
What was Ewing’s summation, when asked how his team let the game slip away?
“Turnovers. Turnovers. Turnovers hurt us” stated Ewing, stressing the word’s importance by repeating it. His team was credited with a whopping 21 for the contest, soon thereafter adding “They went to that, ugh, zone, we started settling for too many jump shots. It’s all the things that normally hurt is in previous games, hurt us again today”.
The overtimes saw Butler eek out a two point scoring advantage. Possibly their most important point came via senior Kelan Martin’s back to back, double overtime jumpers, the last being Butler’s and the game’s final scoring. He finished with 27 points, four rebounds, three assists.
If it was Martin really late, teammate Kamar Baldwin went to work during the second half, finishing with 31 points and five rebounds, all but eight scored during the last 30 minutes.
Butler’s head coach, LaVall Jordan admitted “That’s part of their role for this team”, when asked if, as it seemed Baldwin and Martin had to make it happen offensively for his team. “We need them to come out and be aggressive to score, and also to get their teammates involved”.
The difference in Georgetown’s defensive effectiveness between first half and later was stunning; the Bulldogs shot 32.3% overall and 9.1% from three point land during the first stanza, finishing with 47.9% and 14.3%, respectively.
Ewing’s guys went 41.5% from the field, 31.8% on three balls. Junior forward Marcus Derrickson was impressive, logging a team high 23 points plus 11 rebounds. Jessie Govan, a junior center, paced the game with 13 rebounds while adding 19 points, and freshman guard Jahvon Blair came of the pine for 17 points.
Each made key plays: Derrickson’s three pointer with just under a minute in regulation, receiving a feed from Blair was huge, putting G'Town up two points. Fifty-two seconds later Govan sank a baseline jump hook, giving his team a 75-73 advantage. if not for Butler sophomore forward Sean McDermott’s tip in at the buzzer, Georgetown would have prevailed.
That’s how close this contest was, leaving Ewing to honestly note “It’s a game we should have won. This is a big game for us. Back to the drawing boards. The guys, our young guys, we have to grow with them. You can’t keep making these mistakes.
“We’re going to watch the film and make corrections. Everything starts in practice. It doesn’t start in the game. If we want to be successful, we have to continue to work hard in practice, make those adjustments in practice, instead of making them in the game”.
Georgetown gets until Saturday to refocus, prepare and try again, traveling to Marquette for 430p EST start.
Butler, who hosts Villanova the same day, tipping off at 4p EST.
