LINKS: Georgetown Survives #25 Creighton, #HoyaSneezin

The Georgetown Hoyas (12-6, 2-3) outran the Creighton Bluejays (13-5, 2-3) on Wednesday night.

In a nice team win, this upset will be remembered for several storylines including Omer Yurtseven’s strong post play, Jagan Mosely’s solid second half, Mac McClung and Terrell Allen playing sick (#HoyaSneezin), and the general fast pace of an 83-80 BIG EAST game in a tough 2020.

Here are the links:

Hoyas beat No. 25 Creighton behind Yurtseven’s double-double | Newser (AP/Bobby Bancroft)

The Hoyas (12-6, 2-3 Big East) went on a 13-2 run after Yurtseven’s putback with 13:02 left in the game and never looked back as coach Patrick Ewing picked up his first win over the Bluejays in five tries. “I think the best is still yet to come,” Ewing said about Yurtseven. “He had a pretty good game. He made some mistakes, but I’m a tough man to please. I see the potential in him and I see where he could be.” Yurtseven — an N.C. State transfer who sat out last season — leads Georgetown with averages of 16.5 points and 9.7 rebounds but had seen his numbers dip in league play. “My focus was just that I had to do my part and trust my teammates to do theirs,” Yurtseven said.

Georgetown knocks off newly ranked No. 25 Creighton - Reuters | REUTERS

Jagan Mosely scored 13 points and Jahvon Blair added 12 as the Hoyas (12-6, 2-3 Big East) were able to hold off a late Creighton push after leading by as many as nine points in the second half. Marcus Zegarowski scored 20 points and Denzel Mahoney added 19 as the Bluejays (13-5, 2-3) lost immediately after receiving their first national ranking in two years. It was Creighton’s third defeat in conference play, but their first against a team that wasn’t ranked. McClung scored five points in the final minute of play, three at the free throw line, to seal the victory for Georgetown.

Omer Yurtseven, Mac McClung lead Georgetown past No. 25 Creighton | WASHINGTONPOST

It was Ewing’s first victory over Creighton in his three years helming the Hoyas, and his team stole the game playing exactly the way he wants it to — despite the fact that two of his starting guards, Mac McClung and point guard Terrell Allen, were sick and hadn’t practiced all week.

Georgetown (12-6, 2-3 Big East) was aggressive on defense. The ball moved without a hitch on offense. Omer Yurtseven and McClung turned in big performances and had crucial help from guards Jagan Mosely and Jahvon Blair. And to cap it all off, the Bluejays did their part and shot just 43.1 percent while allowing the Hoyas to shoot 51.7 percent from the floor.

“We just couldn’t stop them,” Creighton Coach Greg McDermott said.

Yurtseven Bullies Bluejays as Hoyas Top #25 Creighton - Thompson’s Towel | THOMPSONSTOWEL

The second half proved to be a different story for the Hoyas, who shot 56.25% from the field. When the Hoyas keep things simple on offense, they tend to find success. This means playing with pace, moving the ball inside-out, and leaning on their top players’ strengths. The key to Georgetown’s success in this sense is Jagan Mosely. Mosely endured a quiet first half, only scoring two points without hitting a field goal. Jagan finished with 13 points on 4-6 shooting with 4 rebounds and 4 assists. It seemed as though the Hoyas were about to pull away after ripping off a 7-0 run to take a 70-61 lead with 5:48 remaining in the game.

Of course, the Bluejays would not go quietly into the D.C. night.

Yurtseven, McClung Help Men’s Basketball Outpace No. 25 Creighton - The Georgetown Voice | GEORGETOWNVOICE

Two jumpers from Creighton’s All-Big East junior guard Ty-Shon Alexander quickly put to bed any thought of a comfortable Hoyas victory, and then Ballock canned a long-overdue three following a McClung turnover to cut the deficit to one. Then, like clockwork, Georgetown threatened to see the game off with floaters from McClung and Mosely back-to-back, but Ballock responded with a difficult three curling off of a screen. In the final two minutes, just like they had at the beginning of both halves, the Hoyas’ big guns rose to the occasion when it was best-on-best. Putting the finishing touches on his stellar performance, Yurtseven feathered yet another ten-footer rolling off a pick set for Mosely to make the contest 76-72. When Creighton answered with a second chance basket, McClung stuck a difficult baseline fadeaway with the shot clock winding down. Zegarowski missed a runner with 27 seconds remaining, and a towering rebound from Yurtseven set the Blue & Gray on their way to a crucial win.

“The guys trusted in me, especially on that pick-and-roll,” Yurtseven said. “[My confidence] comes from my teammates.”

Hoyas Take Down No. 25/RV Creighton 83-80 - Georgetown University Athletics | GUHOYAS

”This was a great team win. Jamorko played his butt off. Both he and Jagan. Jamorko - he got maybe a minute or two of rest, Jagan played the whole game. Jamorko only scored nine points but I thought he was effective defensively. He had six rebounds, he probably could have had more but you know, I’ll take the six, I’ll take the W.” - Head Coach Patrick Ewing

“I gotta do my role, I gotta do my part and trust my teammates to do theirs. Terrell and Mac - they did a huge job … they had a big impact on the game. Jagan defended 40 minutes non stop so that was really big on his part.” - Omer Yurtseven

“Today, I think we were up nine and they went on an 8-0 run, but we didn’t break after that. We kinda came together and closed the game out.” - Jagan Mosely