Short on Time, Hoyas' Hibbert Hits Long Shot

There were less than three seconds left on the shot clock and five seconds remaining on the game clock when Georgetown center Roy Hibbert caught the ball at the top of the arc in yesterday's game against Connecticut, and the 7-foot-2 senior had to make a decision.

Hibbert didn't hesitate; he squared up to the basket and calmly, smoothly released a three-point shot -- only the second of his career -- that ripped through the net and gave the seventh-ranked Hoyas a thrilling 72-69 victory in front of a sold-out crowd of 20,035 at Verizon Center.

"He just made a basketball decision," Coach John Thompson III said of Hibbert, who scored a game-high 20 points. "His man was sitting under the basket, but [Hibbert] knows he can make that shot. That's not a fluke, that's not a shocker, that's not a once-in-a-lifetime thing that Roy makes that shot. . . . If you're not going to play him, he can make that shot."

Said U-Conn. assistant coach George Blaney, who filled in for an ill Jim Calhoun, "That's a tough shot to lose a game on."

Hibbert's basket capped an 11-2 run to close the game and seal the comeback victory for the Hoyas (13-1, 3-0), who moved into sole possession of first place in the Big East. Georgetown travels to No. 20 Pittsburgh (14-2, 2-1) tomorrow.

The Hoyas got the ball with 31 seconds remaining and worked it around the perimeter for one final shot. Thompson said the Hoyas wanted to bring Hibbert up and then back down toward the basket, but instead Hibbert got the ball behind the arc with his defender -- 7-foot-3 sophomore Hasheem Thabeet -- stuck in the lane.

"That play was definitely not run for Roy Hibbert to shoot a three," said former U-Conn. star Ray Allen, who watched the game from behind the Huskies' bench with Caron Butler. "He shot it like he had done it" all season.

True to his nature, Hibbert wanted to talk more about the Hoyas' comeback after the game -- how they "stuck together" and "grinded it out" -- as opposed to his shot. And indeed, the way the Hoyas fought back from a six-point deficit with 4 minutes 22 seconds left to play was impressive, an indication of how "we've grown as a team," according to Hibbert.

Georgetown led, 56-54, with 10 minutes left in the game, but over the next six minutes, the Hoyas' shooting went cold against the U-Conn. zone, allowing the Huskies to open up a 67-61 advantage. Georgetown made just 1 of 9 shots during that stretch despite several good looks at the basket: Senior guard Jonathan Wallace, the school's career three-point leader, missed an open three-pointer from the left side, for instance, and a hook shot by Hibbert rolled off the rim.

"We were getting the shots that we wanted. They didn't go in. What you can't have, what we did during that stretch is, you miss a shot and you kind of give one of these," Thompson said as he slumped his shoulders. "Because they're gone. The way they play, you have to make a decision quickly: Can I get the offensive rebound, and if not, I need to get back. . . . Because they make you pay."

But the Hoyas made the plays -- and the shots -- down the stretch. U-Conn. didn't make a field goal in the final four minutes. Freshman Austin Freeman (13 points) and junior Jessie Sapp made back-to-back three-pointers to tie the score at 67 with 2:20 remaining. The 6-4 Sapp came up with a big defensive rebound that set up Georgetown's final possession.

"Coach talks in practice [about how] sometimes it's going to look ugly. We're going to get open shots and it's not going to go in," Hibbert said. "We have to rely on each other and keep playing through it. . . . I believe in my teammates."

And the Hoyas believe in Hibbert, who made his first three-pointer in a blowout win over Fordham last month. This is the second winning shot of his career, the first coming in a 55-54 victory over Notre Dame during his freshman season, when he ran the length of the floor, caught a pass and then dunked it at the buzzer. As surprising as that was -- the freshman version of Hibbert was much less swift than the current one -- this one probably topped it.

"I came back to work on some stuff and to help Georgetown win," said Hibbert, who withdrew his name from the 2007 NBA draft. "Last year, I wouldn't have taken that shot, but I feel comfortable this year. I'm a senior, and we have to put the season on our backs. Whatever I have to do to make Georgetown win, I'm going to do it."

Hoyas Note: Freshman guard Chris Wright did not play for the third straight game because of an injured right ankle.