Your Georgetown Hoyas played host to the St. Peter’s Peacocks in historic McDonough Gymnasium this afternoon, coming away with a far-too-fraught overtime victory over the visitors from the Garden State, 76-68. Julius Halaifonua was a bright spot, dropping 22 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in a game that should never have been this close. Jeremiah Williams had 6 points in OT, playing all five minutes.
Coming off three road losses in a row,
Georgetown was favored in this one, a welcome change from last weekend’s rough experience at North Carolina. They were still without Vince Iwuchukwu, and DeShawn Harris-Smith was also absent from the team while attending to a personal matter.
Isaiah Abraham opened the scoring with a corner; KJ Lewis got to the line and made a pair not long after.
Halaifonua seemed off-balance early on the offensive end, but was an effective disruptor on defense. Caleb Williams also drained a triple off the smooth extra pass from Lewis. Georgetown was able to execute their offense, while St. Peter’s struggled to get their only two early buckets. It was 10-4 Hoyas at the first media break.
A Malik Mack to baseline-cutting Lewis alley-oop was a surprise, more Kenner League than what we expect to see in the regular season (complimentary).
Mack followed that up by hitting one from well beyond the arc, and Williams did the same from the corner, giving Georgetown an early double-digit lead.
Halaifonua finally found his footing and slammed down a dunk after corralling a well-targeted pass from Kayvaun Mulready. While the Hoyas were managing a balanced offensive performance, all but a single point of St. Peter’s’ points had come from Bryce Eaton.
The Peacocks’ defensive adjustments, a few failures to finish from Georgetown, and one very questionable offensive foul called on C. Williams later… and the home team went more than five minutes without a field goal. Langston Love ended that stretch with a basket that put the Hoyas up 25-17 with just under four minutes left in the half.
Jeremiah Williams finished through (foul-worthy) contact off a steal from Lewis to freshen the 8-point advantage. Jayden Fort had an excellent block on a three-pointer, and it was heartening to see the spirited double-bird salute from a fan on the off-the-ball whistle on that same sequence.
Mulready was called for a foul when a Peacock tripped over his own feet, and it looked like Ed Cooley would have liked to offer the aforementioned hand gesture to the officiating crew. Georgetown took a 31-24 lead into the break.
Halaifonua and C. Williams both made tough hook shots to start off the vesper half (a moniker which is especially appropriate given unusual 2:30pm tipoff). A few unlucky misses from the Hoyas and stronger rebounding from St. Peter’s briefly opened the door, allowing the Georgetown advantage to shrink to four points around the 14-minute mark.
Soon after, a basket and a pair of free throws from Halaifonua doubled that lead back up to eight, and then Fort added another bucket. Both Lewis and Mack had three fouls by this point, and they took a few risk mitigation minutes on the bench.
Fort, J. Williams and Halaifonua all gave solid minutes and found the basket during this stretch, protecting the Hoyas’ fortunes and a 52-42 lead at the U8.
A few missed rebounds by Georgetown caused some agita, but the Peacocks’ scoring troubles balanced that out… for awhile.
Three unanswered field goals from St. Peter’s again pulled the Peacocks within four with 2:47 remaining.
A bailout jumper from Halaifonua and a pair of free throws from St. Peter’s maintained the status quo. An uncharacteristic turnover from Lewis necessitated a foul, and Eaton’s free throws cut the Hoyas’ lead to two. A turnover by Mack and the immediate foul offered the Peacocks a chance and the score was tied, 60-60.
Yet another Hoyas turnover gave St. Peter’s the ball back with the shot clock off. The Peacocks missed a buzzer three, and it was headed to overtime.
The Hoyas scored first in the extra time.
St. Peter’s failed to convert, while Abraham simply refused to give up the rebound on the subsequent possession. He missed from the line, but Halaifonua kept it alive and got the bucket. Peacocks came up empty again.
J. Williams finished through contact for the basket and 1 (converted). It was 67-60 Hoyas with 2:35 remaining in OT.
St. Peter’s was back within 5 when a long inbounds pass from Abraham to Mack resulted in a turnover. Mercifully, C. Williams authoritatively corralled the Peacocks’ miss and was fouled in the process, making both.
Halaifonua grabbed the long rebound off the Peacocks’ errant three pointer attempt, and J. Williams got the layup. 73-64 Hoyas, with 43 seconds on the clock.
When all was said and done, Georgetown did not lose, and the score was 76-68. They should not have lost their 12 point lead either, but at least they did not lose the game.
Next up, BIG EAST play begins as Hoyas face Marquette at 8:30pm on 12/17, airing on FS1. Hoya Saxa.
