DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
Georgetown
DePaul Drops BIG EAST Game to Visiting Georgetown
1/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
ROSEMONT, Ill. - After waging a valiant battle to remain atop the BIG EAST Conference, DePaul was victimized by an unfortunate stretch late in Tuesday night's game at Allstate Arena.
It was back-and-forth, tooth-and-nail all game long until a 17-5 run led to a 78-72 loss to Georgetown.
Durrell McDonald swished a jumper with 9 minutes, 29 seconds left for a 55-53 lead. That's when Georgetown (11-5, 3-2) went on the 17-5 game-changing surge that ended with D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera's jump shot at the 3:42 mark for a 70-60 Hoyas lead.
Myke Henry led DePaul (9-9, 3-2) with 17 points and seven rebounds while Billy Garrett Jr. finished with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists. Jamee Crockett contributed 12 points and Aaron Simpson scored 11 points. Smith-Rivera had game-highs with 25 points and eight rebounds.
"We had two turnovers and forced up two or three bad shots in that stretch," said DePaul coach Oliver Purnell. "Our offensive control really hurt us at a critical time.
"Our offense wasn't good coming down the stretch. When we got down by 10, that really put us in scramble mode. We played better defense with a lot more energy in the second half, but our offense wasn't good."
Something was missing during the Hoyas' late run.
"It was just about effort," Henry said. "They wanted it more than us. They were going after the 50-50 balls while we were standing around."
Crockett and McDonald opened the second half with back-to-back threes as DePaul moved in front 45-44 by the first media timeout.
Trailing 47-45, Garrett converted a pair of technical free throws and Henry followed by swishing a one-and-bonus for a 49-47 DePaul advantage. After Aaron Bowen's basket, Henry and Garrett both finished off tough drives to the basket for a 53-49 lead at the 11:35 mark.
McDonald's shot made it 55-53, but 6-foot, 10-inch, 350-pound Joshua Smith tied it at the 8:35 mark.
"DePaul has a very poised team with multiple people who can score," said Georgetown coach John Thompson III. "We knew they were going to make some runs. We did a good job of responding and finding a way to claw back into the game."
The Blue Demons cut the deficit to four points twice in the final 47 seconds.
"We made some mental errors down the stretch that gave them some hope, and they took advantage of them like a good team will do," Thompson said. "I think we were lucky tonight. They were getting wide-open shots and converting open looks, including three-pointers. During that key stretch, we did a good job recognizing who their shooters were. Fortunately, their shooters missed."
DePaul came out on fire, hitting seven of its first eight shots including three-pointers by Crockett, Henry and Garrett. Georgetown nearly matched that accuracy, converting seven of its first 11 shots.
At the first media timeout, the Blue Demons led 19-16 and did not commit a turnover for the first eight minutes. Henry had seven points in the first seven minutes.
DePaul maintained the lead until the eight-minute mark when back-to-back threes put the Hoyas ahead 26-24. At that point, only three turnovers had been committed in the game, two by Georgetown. Both teams were shooting better than 55 percent from the field.
Aaron Simpson connected on his first three shots to give the home team a 33-31 lead. Smith-Rivera's three-point play put Georgetown up by one. Back came Darrick Wood with a tip-in of his own miss for a one-point Blue Demon lead with four minutes left.
The Hoyas ended the first half on a 10-4 run for a 44-39 lead at the break. Henry was 6-for-6 in the first 20 minutes to lead all scorers with 13 points. Georgetown shot 59 percent in the first half and DePaul 55 percent.
It was a relatively mistake-free first half with just six turnovers by both teams, four by the Hoyas. Georgetown finished with nine turnovers and DePaul had eight.
The Blue Demons return to BIG EAST action with a 1:30 p.m. game Sunday against St. John's at Allstate Arena.
Postgame Notes: The Blue Demons put at least four players in double-figures for the 10th time this season... DePaul drops back-to-back BIG EAST games for the first time this season... Jamee Crockett took sole possession of 17th on DePaul's all-time three-point field list... Billy Garrett Jr. reached double-figures for the 35th time in his career... Georgetown leads the series, 24-7.
