Dec. 1, 2007
WASHINGTON (AP) -Georgetown overcame a mediocre game from Roy Hibbert, an injury scare for Jessie Sapp and a surprising second-half deficit to beat Fairfield 61-49 Saturday and improve to 5-0 for the first time since 2003.
The No. 5 Hoyas didn't make their first field goal after halftime until Hibbert put the ball in off the glass 4 minutes into the period. Remarkably, the hosts needed that basket to erase Fairfield's lead and go ahead 36-35.
It was close for a while. Yorel Hawkins' jumper lifted Fairfield (2-5) back into a tie at 39-all with under 12 minutes left in the game, and even though the visitors would then go more than 4 minutes without scoring, it still was a one-point game with 6 1/2 minutes remaining.
But from that 45-44 deadlock, DaJuan Summers took over for Georgetown, scoring five consecutive points and blocking a shot at the other end that led to Jeremiah Rivers' layup for a 52-46 lead with under 4 minutes to go.
Georgetown's defense was impressive late, holding Fairfield to 5-for-27 shooting in the second half - 18.5 percent.
The Stags kept things interesting in part because Georgetown had its problems on offense and at the foul line. The Hoyas were 8-for-22 (36 percent) on 3-point attempts and finished 9-for-22 (41 percent) on free throws.
Summers finished with 16 points, and Jonathan Wallace added 13. That helped make up for Hibbert's passive afternoon: seven points and seven rebounds. The 7-foot-2 center wound up with the same number of assists (two) as field goals made (two).
Jonathan Han led Fairfield with 17 points, including 4-for-6 on 3-point tries.
The Hoyas lost Sapp, their second-leading scorer, only 23 seconds into the game. He came down hard on the floor when he went after a rebound at the defensive end on Fairfield's first possession.
The junior guard walked off under his own power but did not return to action until the start of the second half, drawing a loud ovation when he first touched the ball. But he only played 6 minutes and missed his only shot.
Sapp entered the day averaging 12 points, second only to Hibbert's 16.3 on the roster, and a team-leading 5.3 assists, and Georgetown appeared to miss his creativity on offense.
Hibbert was a non-factor for long stretches, and his first field goal didn't come until almost 14 minutes into the game. He went to the sideline after picking up his second foul with 4 minutes left in the half and Georgetown ahead 27-22.
But Fairfield, which led briefly a couple of times earlier, wound up pulling into a 33-all tie at halftime.
That it was close at all was certainly unexpected. Big East Conference power Georgetown returned four starters from last season's Final Four team; Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference team Fairfield hasn't won a single game in the NCAA tournament since 1962.
Also, Fairfield came in having lost 15 games in a row against ranked opponents, and the last time it faced a team ranked in the top five was a 41-point loss to No. 2 Duke in January 2004.
And then there was this: Fairfield had no one taller than 6-9 to put on Hibbert, a preseason All-American.
