WASHINGTON (AP) -- No one knew whether undefeated Georgetown was
for real. Even the Hoyas weren't sure.
Now they know.
|  | | Seton Hall's Marcus Tony-El gets fouled by Victor Samnick. The Hoyas ended the Pirates' four-game win streak. |
Overcoming a few nerves in one of their biggest games in years,
the Hoyas (No. 20 ESPN/USA Today, No. 19 AP) nearly pitched a shutout against Seton Hall's
leading scorer as they beat the No. 11 Pirates 78-66 Saturday.
"I don't know if anyone's noticed, but we haven't lost a game
yet," said coach Craig Esherick, when asked if he now had the team
to beat in the Big East.
"If we haven't lost a game yet, it's either us or Boston
College. I don't know if anybody believes either one of us are any
good, but we'll have to play the season out and see. We can prove
it on the floor."
Georgetown (13-0, 2-0), off to its best start since opening with
14 wins in 1989-90, beat a ranked team in the regular season for
the first time since a 106-69 victory over No. 6 Villanova on March
2, 1996. The Hoyas also defeated No. 12 Syracuse in last year's Big
East tournament.
Lee Scruggs' 13 points led six players in double figures, and
the defense held Darius Lane without a field goal until the final
30 seconds. The Hoyas overcame 23 turnovers -- including six in the
first half by point guard Kevin Braswell -- to put the game away
with a 17-4 run midway through the second half.
"I was a little hyper at first," said Braswell, who finished
with 11 points, 12 assists and seven turnovers. "This was our
first really big game, first real contest to let us know we're
good, and I got out of control in the first half. Coach came in
here and said, 'Kevin you've got to calm down.' "
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for Seton Hall
(10-3, 1-1). Lane, averaging 20.8 points coming into the game, was
0-for-14 from the field until a meaningless layup with 29.6 seconds
to play and finished with five points. Lane had not scored fewer
than 13 points this season.
"They put a lot of guys on me," Lane said. "My shots weren't
falling."
Andre Barrett scored 16 points. Freshman Eddie Griffin had an
impressive line -- 15 points, 13 rebounds, six blocks and four
steals -- but he was 5-for-18 from the field and essentially a
non-factor because of the defensive play of Ruben Boumtje Boumtje,
who blocked five shots.
"I was concerned about Griffin, and I was concerned about
Lane," Esherick said. "We had somebody on both of those kids on
almost every possession."
Braswell spurred the second-half run with a nice move to get
open for a short jumper and drove the paint for a layup on the next
possession. Scruggs added a pair of 3-pointers from the top of the
key, retreating to midcourt and waving his arms to the cheering MCI
Center crowd after his second one made it 57-47 with 10:50 to play.
At the other end, Georgetown's defense repeatedly frustrated the
young Pirates, who reverted to a one-on-one mentality. Lane kept
missing -- throwing up an air-ball on his 14th shot -- the Hoyas kept
blocking shots, and a wide-open Ty Shine let fly with another wild
air ball from 3-point range.
"They make you play that way because of the pressure," coach
Tommy Amaker said. "When you have the ball, you can't run a play.
You have to put it on the floor and make a play, and we didn't do
that very well. ... I think we have a lot of growing up to do.
"They're as good as anybody we've faced. People maybe were
reserving judgment until seeing them against us today, and I
thought they proved that and more."
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Seton Hall Clubhouse
Georgetown Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Georgetown's Demetrius Hunter shows his leaping ability with this spectacular dunk against Seton Hall.
avi: 960 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Gerogetown's Kevin Braswell displays some razzel-dazzel with a ball fake and then drives to the rim.
avi: 630 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Georgetown's Lee Scruggs flys high in the sky for the offensive rebound against Seton Hall.
avi: 992 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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