FLAWED FINISH: Georgetown Tops UMBC 90-81

Your Georgetown Hoyas returned to their home court tonight, besting the UMBC Retrievers by a score of 90-81. Caleb Williams led with 18 points and 8 rebounds. KJ Lewis had 17 points, 5 rebounds, a pair of blocks and a steal. Malik Mack added 15 points, 7 assists, and 3 steals. Julius Halaifonua played 33 minutes, scoring 16 points, snagging 9 rebounds, and notching 4 assists. Isaiah Abraham gave his strongest all-around performance yet for the Hoyas, and turned in some double-digit scoring in the process.

It was important that the Hoyas take this winnable game, as the news that Vince Iwuchukwu would be out for 6-8 weeks combined with two consecutive losses in the Thanksgiving MTE in Orlando had taken the collective delusion level down several notches.

Georgetown scored 7 unanswered to start the game, with baskets from C. Williams, Mack, and Lewis. UMBC steadied and got on the board, and it was 9-5 Hoyas at the first TV timeout.

Langston Love got some early minutes, intercepting an errant Retriever pass that set up Jeremiah Williams for a tough hook shot. Halaifonua also established his position inside early, asserting himself against UMBC’s big man for back to back buckets.

As is tradition, Georgetown did not run up a large advantage. The Hoyas established a 3-4 basket differential and that is roughly where it stuck throughout the remainder of the half. Georgetown was sharing the ball well with assists on 75% of their field goals, and the sequence with a driving finish from Lewis to Abraham, followed by a putback from Halaifonua, encapsulates nicely the variety of teamwork we love to see.

That said… there were deep flaws on display as well. If the Hoyas’ defense had been remotely engaged, they wouldn’t have allowed UMBC to score on 8 of 9 possessions, and putting up 45 points in a half would have yielded a much more impressive halftime score. As it was, they had to settle for leading 45-37 into the break.

Georgetown gave up two consecutive baskets coming out of halftime, taking the margin from “familiar lack of killer instinct” to “horrified flashbacks of lethal cupcakes past.” It was 45-41 with 18:26 to play.

This moment (thankfully) seemed to galvanize the Hoyas into getting their act together. Georgetown scored 17 unanswered points (including 10 in only 73 seconds), with Mack driving well, Lewis and Abraham contributing, and Julius making good from both the field and the free-throw line. At the 15:03 mark, the Hoyas led 62-41.

A pair of triples from C. Williams and another from Love over the next few minutes ensured that the Hoyas were keeping that ~20-point advantage alive. With just under 10 minutes to play, Georgetown was on top 75-53, and their defense was at least partially curbing the Retrievers.

Prematurely dropping the intensity level more than 3/4 of the way through the second half, the Hoyas gave up four straight buckets. The dominant lead shrunk to something decidedly less comfortable, with Georgetown ahead 84-73 with 3:46 on the clock. That advantage slimmed by another two points before Mack knocked down a three from the top of the arc to stop the bleeding.

The Hoyas’ inability to grab an easy rebound on the final UMBC possession was a final moment of frustration, yet Lewis’ tough defense within the same sequence was encouraging to see, so we’ll call that a wash. At the buzzer, Georgetown had the only lead that mattered — the one that goes in the books as a 90-81 victory.

Awareness of who has the hot hand or the open shot, getting to the line more consistently than in years past, and being willing to share the ball well are strengths of this group. The defense had long dark stretches with a few bright moments, and generally improved in (most of) the second half, but needs to function consistently at a much higher level to win games once BIG EAST play starts. Also, it should go without saying, but they need to learn to close out strong.

Up next, the Hoyas are back on the road, traveling down Tobacco Road to face #16 UNC on Sunday, December 7th. That one tips off at 5pm ET and will air on ESPN.

Hoya Saxa.