Sports
Blair, Pitt halt Hoyas' rise
By: Craig Stouffer
Examiner Staff Writer
January 3, 2009
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| Pittsburgh's DeJuan Blair, left, attempts to shoot over Georgetown's DaJuan Summers during the second half of Saturday's game at Verizon Center. Pittsburgh won 70-54. (Luis M. Alvarez/AP) |
The answer to just how good Georgetown is must lie somewhere in between.
As dominating as 11th-ranked Hoyas were five days ago in their Big East opener, when they self-assuredly dismantled No. 2 Connecticut in a double-digit victory on the road, they were just as handily picked apart in the second half Saturday afternoon at home by No. 3 Pittsburgh, which rode an enormous rebounding advantage to a 70-54 win.
The loss was Georgetown’s first in eight games and first at Verizon Center in nearly two years – the last coming to Villanova in Jan. 2007 -- ending a stretch of 29 consecutive home wins (28 at Verizon Center), the longest streak in the program’s modern history.
“We have to bounce back,” said Hoyas head coach John Thompson III, whose team departs tomorrow for Monday’s encounter at No. 7 Notre Dame. “We have to figure out what we’re going to take away from it, and then immediately focus on what’s ahead.”
At some point, Thompson will have to figure out how to stop DeJuan Blair, who paced the undefeated Panthers (14-0, 2-0 Big East) and outshined his counterpart, Georgetown freshman sensation Greg Monroe, by using his six-foot-seven, 265-pound frame to clear out space for 20 points and 17 rebounds.
Monroe, who soared to the top of NBA draft boards after out-dueling Connecticut’s Hasheem Thabeet, had 15 points and eight rebounds but gave credit where it was due.
“[Blair is a] very good player and he knows how to use his strength and his width,” said Monroe. “He’s also deceptively long. That’s his whole game plan, using his strength and wide body under the basket to get points.”
Seven of Blair’s boards came as part of Pittsburgh’s 20-7 advantage on the offensive glass, the rest adding to a 48-23 rebounding margin overall.
“The main part of our offense is taking good shots, which leads to better offensive rebounding opportunities,” said Panthers head coach Jamie Dixon. “I thought this was the classic example of that because the open threes that we didn’t hit, we knew they were going up so we know to go to the glass, and DeJuan was a big part of that.”
The Hoyas (10-2, 1-1) never led but twice evened the game early in the second half, with DaJuan Summers’ 3-pointer tying the score, 40-40, with just over 14 minutes remaining.
The Panthers responded with an immediate 8-0 run and then scored at least a point on all but two possessions over the next 13 minutes – besting Georgetown over that stretch, 30-12. Pittsburgh racked up 48 points in the paint and 24 off second-chance opportunities.
“They did what veteran teams do,” said Thompson. “They made the right plays. They executed at both ends of the floor. We are a young team that has to go through that growth process, that understanding. The nature of our league is that all the games are going to be like that.”
Summers kept the Hoyas close in the first half, when he scored 16 of his team-high 22 points. But he also managed only two rebounds.
“We just need to do a better job of what we’re supposed to be doing,” said Summers. “Guys need to do a better job of weak-side rebounding and just pursuing the ball. We’ve got to get better. I think we’re young, we just need to get more experience under our belt to realize that we’ve got to get more boards.”
