Ring Up A Hoya. MU beats #17 Georgetown Hoyas

Marquette defeats #17 Georgetown 57-51 on National Marquette Day.

MU survived an early Georgetown onslaught to start the game and a 14-4 run at the end of the game but somehow managed to not let this one slip away.

It was a low scoring game and a physical one from start to finish. The Hoyas established an inside game early going 5 for 5 in the first five minutes of the game, all points coming from the paint. MU trailed 6-0 and 14-7 before Tom Crean then switched to a zone defense and it was very effective it allowing MU back into the game. The Hoyas went to the perimeter and they were stone cold. Some great defense by Barro and Grimm on the post held the Hoyas big men at bay. The Warriors (as Rick Majerus referred to them on the broadcast at least 5 times) finally caught GU at 22-22 with 4:15 left in the first half. MU extended that lead to complete their 14-1 run by on a reverse dunk by Dominic James which gave MU a 29-22 lead. The Hoyas added the last basket of the half to trail 29-24.

In the second half, MU struggled a bit out of the gate but then looked to possibly run away with the game. At the 7 minute mark MU led 44-35 and controlled the tempo. Then the collapse started, a collapse we have seen on several occasions with this young squad this year. Then James left due to cramping in his legs again. Turnovers, made three pointers by Georgetown and suddenly MU was in big trouble. At the 4:00 minute mark the Hoyas made a 3 pointer to take a 49-48 lead. MU's NCAA hopes were about to take a huge hit.

At 2:52 a timeout gave the boys a chance to catch their breath and setup an inbounds play that worked to perfection. Dominic James drove the baseline and kicked to an open senior...no, not that senior but Joe Chapman. Chaps nailed a 3 pointer at 2:33 left to put MU back on top 51-49. MU never trailed again. A minute later Dominic James threw up a floater that looked like a bad shot but somehow went in to give MU the 53-49 lead. They clamped down on defense and hit their free throws in the final seconds to put the game away and move to 7-5 in the conference and 17-8 overall.



#9 Pittsburgh comes into Milwaukee on Saturday.

Todd Rosiak Article here

Associated Press Recap here



Boxscore here