Late surge from Hoyas not enough to win game
On Monday, February 14th, the Creighton Bluejays managed to hold off a comeback from the Georgetown Hoyas, 88-77. This is one of those games where the final score is not reflective of the effort that Georgetown put into this game, as Creighton was leading by 23 points with 18 minutes left, but just 6 with 2:45 left. This was brought about by a small-ball, full-court pressure that really bugged Creighton, leading to 28 points off turnovers in favor of the Hoyas. Without this small-ball lineup, the score could have been much worse for Georgetown.
The Hoyas also benefited from an excellent game from Aminu Mohammed, who logged 34 minutes and 27 points on just 15 shots. The star guard out of Maryland also tore down 10 rebounds, securing yet another double-double in his freshman campaign. He was spectacular to watch, scoring at will in the paint at times even around Creighton defenders like Ryan Kalkbrenner and KeyShawn Feazell. Though he fouled out, it was late enough into the game that his heroic push was already felt. It is a shame that such a performance was on the losing side.
Creighton’s Alex O’Connell wanted to do his best Aminu Mohammed impression, but with three-point shots. The fifth-year senior out of Georgia scored 27 points in 38 minutes and 15 shots as well, utilizing five three-pointers to help push the Jays to the finish line. He distributed, dishing out five assists, which helped to counterbalance his six turnovers. With the Jays shorthanded, Creighton needed a spark from someone to get the team going, and today it was Alex O’Connell.
The balanced attack of Creighton was of note too. Creighton had five players in double-figures, led by O’Connell, then four players between 12-14 points (Ryan Hawkins, Ryan Kalkbrenner, Ryan Nembhard, KeyShawn Feazell). For a team that was desperate for a good performance against a familiar foe, Creighton did just that. But don’t discount Georgetown and their performances on the scoring column. Mohammed had 27, but Dante Harris had 23 and Donald Carey had 12. If you are a Georgetown fan, you need to be encouraged by the performance of these players and build on this.
For Creighton, who advances to 16-8 (8-5), the next game should be a good one: at DePaul on Thursday, February 17th. Georgetown, dropping to 6-18 (0-13), has an even shorter road to their next game, as they play at Marquette on Wednesday, February 16th. Neither team should be favored, but both should be competitive coming off of their performances Monday.