In the Big East, no lead is safe until the final buzzer.
Villanova learned this the hard way Monday night as the Wildcats fell to Georgetown , 64-63, at Finneran Pavilion. Micah Peavy’s layup with 1.7 seconds left capped the Hoyas’ 9-0 run in the final 2 minutes, 34 seconds.
Villanova (12-8, 5-4 Big East) had led by six or more points for the first 17 minutes and 26 seconds of the second half, but Georgetown (13-6, 4-4) got its first lead of the half when it counted. The outcome was sealed when the Wildcats’ Eric Dixon’s shot at the buzzer rolled off the rim as the Hoyas snapped a four-game losing streak.
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“I give [Georgetown] a lot of credit,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said. “They came after us. They were physical. They forced us into some turnovers. They executed.”
Wooga woes
Villanova senior guard Wooga Poplar was given a flagrant 2 foul resulting in an immediate ejection after taking a swing at Georgetown’s Thomas Sorber at the 12:27 mark of the first half. Sorber also received a technical foul on the play.
Without Poplar, Villanova’s second-leading scorer (13.9 points), it was up to the rest of the Wildcats to step up.
Dixon led all scorers in the first half with 16 points and three assists, while Jordan Longino contributed 11 points. The pair combined for 27 of Villanova’s 34 points to put the Wildcats up seven at the half..
“Those two players are really good players,” Georgetown coach Ed Cooley said. “You’re not going to stop those guys. This is their home. They live in here.”
Dixon, the nation’s leading scorer, finished with a game-high 29 points and eight rebounds. Longino added 18 points, and Enoch Boakye chipped in 12 rebounds.
Tip the seesaw
The first half saw eight lead changes before the Wildcats rode an 8-0 run to a 34-27 halftime lead. Neither team shot over 40% from the field.
“In one-point games, everyone looks towards the end of the game, but there’s a lot of play[s] throughout the game that [we] can change,” Neptune said.
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Come the second half, Villanova slowly but surely began to tip the seesaw.
Graduate guard Jahmir Brickus opened up scoring for the Wildcats with a three, followed by a layup and a three-point play from Dixon, giving Villanova its largest lead at 42-29 with 16:41 left to play.
But the Hoyas didn’t make it easy. A 6-0 run from the Hoyas over just 36 seconds cut the lead back to five with 12:23 left.
The Hoyas, who entered Monday’s game allowing 64.4 points, the best mark in the Big East, held the Wildcats to just 40% shooting from the field. Georgetown also forced 16 turnovers, six of which came from Dixon.
“When you defend, you win,” Cooley said. “It’s as simple as that.”
Villanova held the Hoyas to just 36.2% from the field and are now 10-3 this season when holding teams to 70 or fewer points.
Hoya highlights
Peavy led the Hoyas with 24 points, including 6-for-9 from beyond the arc. His six three-pointers were a career high.
Four-time Big East freshman of the week Sorber chipped in with 15 points along with 11 boards, while Jayden Epps also contributed 15 points.
Up next
Villanova will head to Milwaukee to take on Marquette (15-3, 6-1) on Friday (7 p.m., FS1) at Fiserv Forum. The Golden Eagles’ lone Big East loss came against Xavier on Jan. 18.