11/24/2003
The Hoyas got some karmic balance for last season on 11/23/03 defeating Penn State on the road, 79-78. For a pleasant change, Georgetown came out on top of a 1 point decision (last season GU lost twice by a point and 3 times in overtime), when Ashanti Cook was fouled in the final 1.1 seconds and nailed a pair of free throws. That the victory came against a home standing Penn State was particularly sweet, as the Nittany Lions had defeated the Hoyas in the final second of a game in McDonough Gym in 1971-72.
The shooting game for the Hoyas started off poorly, where they missed 12 of their first 14 shots from the field, which allowed the Lions to jump out to an early 13-0 lead. The Hoyas improved in the second half and opened up the second stanza with a 13-4 run that saw the score tied at 46-all, after a Brandon Bowman three-pointer with 16:44 left to play. Brandon scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half of play, which was critical in the Hoyas comeback. Freshman Ray Reed contributed 10 points in the first half, to keep the Hoyas close, while fellow teammates Ashanti Cook and Darrell Owens scored 17 and 10 points, respectively.
Cook?s two most important points on the night came from two critical free throws, with 1.1 seconds left in the game. After Penn State?s Brandon Cameron made a free throw to put the Lions up 78-77, with only 2.2 seconds left, the Hoyas had one chance left to win the game. On the ensuing inbounds play, Bowman rolled the ball up the court to Cook, in order to keep the clock from starting. Cameron saw this and attempted to steal the ball but was whistled for his collision with Cook. Cook sank both of the free throws to put the Hoyas up 79-78. The Hoyas deflected a last ditch effort by the Lions to take home the close victory.
For the game the Hoyas shot 42.4% from the field, where they shot only 30% in the first half, but improved greatly in the second half with 55.2% shooting. They shot 42.1% from beyond the three-point arc, shooting 50% in the second half, to help lead them to the victory. The Hoyas forced twenty turnovers while only giving up thirteen, with only four coming in the second half. Their 75% free throw shooting was pivotal in their victory.
