Postgame audio - Coach John Thompson III, Henry Sims & Jason Clark:
As they had done one day previous against Pitt, Georgetown (23-8) was able to slowly pull away from Cincinnati (23-9) in the second half of this afternoon's Big East Tournament quarterfinal, leading 48-37 following a pair of Jason Clark free throws with 9:11 left.
However, unlike their last time out, the Hoyas were unable to counteract a final run for their opposition. Disrupting the day’s ebb and flow, a nine point lead went down to four rapidly and emphatically on a fantastic play where Yancy Gates stole the ball, passed backwards to Cashmere Wright on a break and still heading forward Wright lofted a diagonal pass for the alley oop dunk.
The Bearcats moved ahead late in regulation on a Gates tip follow for the first time since the 8:54 point of the first frame.
I’m not sure the Georgetown coaches and players would agree, but from a sheer entertainment standpoint this is where the tense, dramatic fun ramped up exponentially.
Down two with the shot clock off, Henry Sims from the top of the arc masked a two hand pass to Hoya freshman Otto Porter who got a soft jumper on the right side to drop with :03.6 left, sending the game to overtime.
With that, what had been a game controlled by Georgetown in most regards transformed into a tense, classic big man battle that showcased the talents of the seniors Gates and Sims.
A single free throw by Dion Dixon inched Cincinnati up 55-54, offset by Sims’ dropstep and reverse to his right. Gates answered from the paint and Sims assisted out of the post to Porter for a jumper.
With one on the shot clock, Wright was able to teardrop a runner to the front rim and the ball lipped home making it 59-58 Bearcats.
Things appeared troubling when Sims, a 71.3% free throw shooter, missed a pair at the line and JaQuon Parker put back a Gates miss that rebounded high in the air off the glass for a three point game.
With the shot clock off, Jason Clark circled to his left off the glass and after fouling Dixon a split at the line gave the ball to Georgetown in the same position they were in at the end of regulation.
Unable to get a clean look from the arc, Sims drove to his right off the window and laid the ball home a fraction before time expired. For the first time since Syracuse and UConn played six of them two years ago there would be a double overtime game in the Big East Tournament.
Dixon added a free throw to begin this extra frame as well and Sims scored to his left at Gates. Sean Kilpatrick responded clutching in the lane and Porter added a jumper for a 66-65 Georgetown lead, the seventh of eight OT lead changes.
Next Dixon was off on the left wing for three but Gates snared a weakside rebound and made one of two free throws to cease the scoreboard flipping and even the game.
Clark’s entry to the post was picked off by Gates and his long outlet was run down by Dixon for a lay-in.
Sophomore guard Markel Starks stepped into a tying two and we were even with just over a minute remaining. Gates put his team up a pair over Sims and Sims went right back his counterpart Gates.
As the crowd at Madison Square Garden rose, Georgetown’s defense tried to contain Gates but this focus allowed Wright to get into the lane with little obstruction and banked a runner down with seven ticks to go.
The Hoyas called time and set up Clark in the backcourt heading across the floor.
“We wanted Jason to roll off Henry and Hollis [Thompson] in the corner. They locked in on Hollis so he couldn’t move,” explained head coach John Thompson III. “Both guys came with Jason, he threw it back to Henry.”
It was a wide open attempt from the top of the arc, Sims’ first three point try of the season and the shot sailed long.
Time expired. There would be no third overtime.
With their respective centers playing to a standstill, in the third consecutive similar circumstance, Georgetown came up one basket short of the Big East Tournament semifinals.
Sims ended with his second double double at the BET after just one in the regular season, 22 points and 15 rebounds on 11-20 shooting. Gates was equally strong, scoring 23 and grabbing eight boards while going 10-19 from the floor.
Like in their only regular season meeting, where Cincinnati came from down six with six minutes to go, the Bearcats rallied to top Georgetown, finishing regulation’s last 6:02 on a 13-4 run.
Only this time they needed 10 thrilling extra minutes to do so.
