DOG EAT DAWG: Georgetown Puts Down Butler, 73-70

Sorber and Peavy each score 19 in 5th win

Your Georgetown Hoyas downed the Butler Bulldogs 73-70 in a too-close-for-comfort gray-out game at Capital One Arena on Friday night. The game saw 18 lead changes and 6 ties, with Georgetown ultimately leading for the last 16 minutes of the game. Despite only shooting 2-17 from three, the Hoyas pulled away from the Bulldogs in the second half with 24-16 points in the paint and 13-3 points off turnovers.

In the first half, Butler narrowly led 37-36, with both teams shooting 47% from the field, but Butler had a slight edge in three-point shooting. Georgetown outscored Butler 37-33 in the second half to secure the victory.

Micah Peavy and Thomas Sorber were the standout performers for Georgetown, each scoring 19 points. Peavy demonstrated his versatility, also grabbing 9 rebounds and leading the team with 3 steals. Sorber continued his strong play, adding 5 rebounds and 3 steals, along with one block. Malik Mack contributed 14 points and 6 assists.

Drew Fielder contributed 8 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block, making 2 of 5 field goal attempts including 2 of 4 from three-point range. Caleb Williams also had another solid performance, contributing 8 points and 6 rebounds. Jayden Epps did not play.

Andre Screen led Butler with 16 points, followed by Finley Bizjack with 17 and Pierre Brooks with 14.

Georgetown dominated in the paint, scoring 52 points compared to Butler’s 38. The Hoyas also capitalized on turnovers, scoring 17 points off of them (13 in the second period), whereas Butler only managed 3 points off turnovers. Butler committed 13 turnovers (9 in the second), while Georgetown had 6. The Hoyas were also active on defense, securing 10 steals compared to Butler’s 4.

Georgetown struggled from beyond the arc, making only 2 of 17 attempts. Both teams were evenly matched in rebounding, securing 33 boards each.

In the first half, Butler shot 47% from the field and 23% from three point range, while Georgetown shot 47% from the field but only 11% from three point range.

In the second half, Butler shot 50% (12-24) from the field and 4-7 (57%) from three point range, while Georgetown shot 52% (15-29) from the field but only 1-8 (13%) from three point range. Although neither team shot particularly well from three point range overall, McCaffery of Butler hit 3 of 5 three pointers.

GUHoyas Press Release:

Peavy and Sorber Tally 19 Points Apiece in 73-70 Win over Butler

WASHINGTON – Behind three in double figures, the Georgetown University men’s basketball team held on for the 73-70 win over the visiting Butler University Bulldogs on Friday night at Capital One Arena. With the win, the Hoyas improve to 14-8 on the year with a 5-6 mark in BIG EAST play while the Bulldogs slip to 9-13 with a 2-9 record in league action.

ON THE RECORD
“It’s been somewhat of a frustrating January with coming out of Syracuse and not having the same lineup consistently. I give our kids a lot of credit. Coming off of a very disturbing loss against a high-quality opponent, for us to respond the way we did today, in particular, the second half defensively. I thought the change of the game was our defensive pressure in the second half. We were able to close it out. When you’re building and growing, you have to expect something like that.” – Head Coach Ed Cooley

“Really what I worked on this off season was just my confidence. I worked on my confidence, and then with my coaches on just letting me play the game, and then working with Coach LaDontae Henton and hitting in the gym. I’ve just been working on assets of my three-point shot, my midrange, and my back to the basket. I think it’s showing,” – Micah Peavy on his work ethic development

“I like expressing myself, but not toward the opponent, you know. I like expressing myself to my teammates and showing that I’m having fun on court. I just try to keep my mentality straight and just continue to be able to put points on the board to help my team.” – Thomas Sorber

HOYA HIGHLIGHTS

• Micah Peavy and Thomas Sorber led all scorers with 19 points apiece. Peavy went 9-for-16 from the field while grabbing a squad-best nine rebounds and adding a game-best three steals to his line.
• Sorber went 8-for-14 from the field and knocked down 3-for-4 at the charity stripe. He matched Peavy’s game-best three steals.
• Mack rounded out those in double figures with 14 points and paced the offense with a game-high six assists.
• GU shot 49.2% (31-63) from the floor and outscored the Bulldogs in the paint 52-38.
• The Hoyas forced 13 Butler turnovers on 10 steals, while committing just six of their own. The Blue & Gray converted those turnovers to 17 points.

BUTLER HIGHLIGHTS

• Finley Bizjack led the Bulldogs on offense with 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting from the floor. Andre Screen (16), Pierre Brooks (14) and Patrick McCaffery (11) rounded out the Bulldogs in double figures.
• McCaffery led Butler on the glass pulling down seven rebounds followed closely by Screen with six.
• Butler shot 48.2% (27-for-56) from the field.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Blue & Gray jumped out to an 8-2 lead behind the power of its frontcourt with six points coming from Sorber and another two from Drew Fielder.
• Butler clawed its way back in, knotting the score at 12 before taking an 18-13 lead with 11:01 on the clock. A Fielder trey followed up by a Malik Mack jumper knotted the score back up at 18 as the teams traded points.
• As the teams went back and forth, it was a Caleb Williams driving layup that put the Hoyas back up on top (30-29) with 2:21 remaining. As the Bulldogs pulled ahead on a triple, Peavy had the answer with a bucket on the other end to knot the game at 34.
• Free throws pushed Butler ahead 37-34 with 9.4 seconds remaining until Jordan Burks grabbed the offensive board and got the layup to send the teams into the locker room with the visitors holding a 37-36 advantage.
• Coming out of the locker room, the two teams traded buckets before the game was tied up at 44. The Hoyas reeled off 11 unanswered to propel the home team to the 55-44 advantage as a pair of Sorber buckets sparked the run. The run closed on a Fielder triple sandwiched between a pair of Caleb Williams driving layups.
• A pesky Butler squad wouldn’t go away, cutting the deficit to four (64-60) before a Mack layup in traffic pushed the lead back to six. A second-chance 3-pointer for the Bulldogs was answered with another Mack bucket as the Hoyas took a 68-63 lead, forcing the BU timeout.
• Late free throws provided the 73-70 final score for the Blue & Gray.

OF NOTE

• Georgetown reached 70 points in a BIG EAST matchup for the first time since an 81-57 win over Creighton on December 18.
• With 10 steals, the Hoyas managed double-digit steals for the seventh time this season and the first time since the game against Creighton (Dec. 18).

UP NEXT
Georgetown returns to action on Tuesday, February 4 as the Hoyas hit the road to face Xavier at Cintas Center. Tipoff in Cincinnati, Ohio is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on FS1 with Connor Onion calling the play-by-play and LaPhonso Ellis providing analysis. The game can be heard locally on Team 980 with Rich Chvotkin, in his 51st season as the Voice of the Hoyas, calling the action.