Howard Gives Strong Effort In Loss To Georgetown
Howard fell behind 17-0 to start the game, rallied to get within two before a late push proved to be the difference as 18th ranked Georgetown escaped the upset and shook off the upset-minded Bison, 62-48 before 8,120 at the Verizon Center.
Howard (3-6) could get nothing going as the Hoyas bolted out to a 17-0 lead. Using a combination of some suffocating defense and baskets off turnovers, Georgetown took control.
"We dug ourselves in a hole early, "said Howard second year head coach Kevin Nickelberry. "But we have had adversity all season. When you play as many freshmen as we do, you are going to have the peaks and valleys."
Dadrian Collins' three pointer at the 10:39 mark was the first basket by Howard and it appeared to help settle the young Bison squad as they worked their way back to trail 30-17 at the half. Collins was able to get his team back into the game with eight first half points.
Georgetown (8-1) was able to maintain a double digit deficit before the Bison began to scrap and claw their way back in the game. Howard would go on a 23-12 run over the first 13 minutes to whittle the lead to 42-40 with 7:33 in the second stanza.
Junior forward Mike Phillips led the way for Howard with 12 of his team-high 14 points while the rest of the team contributed gritty, hustle plays that do not show up on stat sheets, but are nonetheless valuable.
"We played with a lot more energy in the second half," said Nickelberry. "We were able to take away some of the things they like to do. We did a much better job of defending their backdoor cuts and challenging shots."
But from there, the Hoyas, led by Otto Porter, Hollis Thompson and Henry Sims, put together an 18-4 run during a six-minute stretch to take command at 60-44 with less than two minutes remaining.
"Coach (John) Thompson, III) did a great job of changing up their defense by going with the full-court pressure," explained Nickelberry. "They had not done that all season and it really changed the game. We started turning it over and, to their credit, they capitalized on it. That was the difference."
"I would like to stand here and tell you that we did not play wellfor a number of reasons," said Georgetown head coach John Thompson, III. "But Howard had a lot to do with that. They came to play."
Phillips led the Bison 14 points and Collins contributed 11. The Hoyas were led by Porter, who came off the bench to score 13 while Thompson and Jason Clark each had 12.
GAME NOTES: The Hoyas won the battle in the paint, 28-16, bench productivity, 22-9 and in points off turnover 29-16.
NEXT UP: Howard hosts St. Francis of New York on Monday at 7 pm in the Burr.