It was as excrutiatingly close as Georgetown and Memphis’ rankings predicted. That is, until the final minute of overtime, when the Hoyas displayed the true difference between a team predicated on balance and the risk of hinging success on a likely one-and-done freshman phenom.
With contributions from six different players in overtime, including a result-punctuating halfcourt basket by Jessie Sapp at the buzzer, the 19th-ranked Hoyas increased their home winning streak to 26 and handed the 17th-ranked Tigers their first true road loss since December 2006, with a 79-70 victory in front of 15,328 at Verizon Center.
DaJuan Summers put the Hoyas (7-1) ahead for good in the extra period — in which they outscored the Tigers, 13-4 — with a free throw on the way to a team-high 21 points. Austin Freeman poured in 18 points, with Chris Wright scoring 14 and Greg Monroe adding 13.
Memphis freshman Tyreke Evans overcame four fouls to score 20 points, but he missed twice from the field in the final minute of both regulation and overtime.
By all indications, the Hoyas felt like they should’ve been down by more than one at halftime, thanks to a 28-15 advantage on the boards for the Tigers. But Memphis also turned the ball over 10 times in the period, twice as many times as Georgetown.
Although Evans scored the Tigers’ first bucket of the game with a lightning-quick layup in transition, he missed his next six shots and finished the half with 10 points. But Memphis was the only team on the inside, where Shawn Taggart (career-high-matching 21 points) grabbed six of his team’s 14 first-half offensive rebounds for an easy 14 points going into the break.
The Tigers had their biggest lead, 17-11, when Evans easily put back his own miss with 11:37 remaining in the first half. But three Memphis turnovers later, the Hoyas went back in front when Omar Wattad found Summers for a 3-pointer and an 18-17 lead. Wattad followed with own three for a 21-17 margin, Georgetown’s biggest of the game.
