No game can ever be assumed to be an easy victory for this young Georgetown team, not even against an opponent it had beaten by an average of 26 points in three previous meetings, from a conference to whom it had never lost a game. The Hoyas needed overtime to beat Norfolk State of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, 78-70, last night before 6,071 at MCI Center.
"We can beat any team in the country. We can also lose to any team in the country. That's just the composition of our team right now," Georgetown Coach John Thompson III said. "We're young, inexperienced; we're learning new things. . . . We have to be focused, we have to come to play, every day, every game, no matter who the opponent is. They did a better job of coming in focused than we did today."
Norfolk State sophomore Calvin Brown's two-handed shovel shot with eight seconds left in regulation tied the score at 61 and sent the game into overtime. The Hoyas made 6 of 7 shots in the extra session, and junior Brandon Bowman scored eight of his game-high 23 points in overtime.
"I was not going to let [a loss] happen. If I had any part of it, I was not going to let it happen," said Bowman, who added 11 rebounds. "I think my teammates started taking that approach, that we're in overtime with a team that played hard the whole game."
This was a dangerous game for the Hoyas (7-3), who had three freshmen (guard Jonathan Wallace, forward Jeff Green and center Roy Hibbert) in the starting lineup for the third straight game. The game fell during something of a schedule lull: A week ago, Georgetown was in Hawaii, playing three games (winning two) at the Rainbow Classic, and a week from now, the Hoyas open their Big East schedule with games at No. 10 Pittsburgh (Jan. 5) and against No. 11 Connecticut (Jan. 8).
Falling in between are two opponents from the MEAC, Norfolk State and Howard (tomorrow). Norfolk State (3-6), which hadn't played since a 63-58 loss to Rutgers on Dec. 18, was without Coach Dwight Freeman. Assistant Rodney Martin directed the Spartans while Freeman is unable to travel because of two blood clots in his right leg.
The Spartans were also forced to play without their best player, senior guard Chakowby Hicks, for much of the game; Hicks, a former Spingarn High standout, was limited to 17 minutes in regulation by foul trouble. He caused plenty of problems for the Hoyas when he was in the game, and finished with 17 points and four steals.
Georgetown led 35-25 at halftime, but Norfolk State scored seven consecutive points midway through the half to take a 47-45 lead with 9:44 left in regulation. At that point, Georgetown had made only three shots from the field in the half, all three-pointers. The Hoyas, who had scored 20 points in the lane in the first half, all of a sudden struggled to find shots inside; instead, nine of their 10 shots came from long range.
"We had to look to penetrate more than we did," Thompson said. "We were getting looks, but they weren't going in. They did a good job of making sure that Jeff [Green] didn't get the ball in the second half, so we couldn't throw it down to him. We definitely had to put the ball down and go to the basket a little more."
The Hoyas tied the score at 47 on two free throws by Hibbert, and the teams traded baskets from there. Back-to-back layups by Hicks gave Norfolk State a 57-54 lead with 2:42 left, but Bowman tied the game once again on a three-pointer from the top of the arc. Norfolk State scored the final four points of regulation to send the game into overtime.
Georgetown led by 14 in the first half. Last week the Hoyas shot a remarkable 80 percent (16 of 20) in the second half of their most recent game, a 75-60 win over Clemson in Honolulu, and they continued their hot shooting early last night. Georgetown made eight of its first 11 shots against the Spartans as it opened a 20-14 lead. The Hoyas shot 50 percent for the game.
