Andrew Rowsey Guides Marquette Past Georgetown, 74-65

The Marquette Golden Eagles (10-4, 1-1 Big East) defeated the Georgetown Hoyas (10-3, 0-2 Big East), 74-65, on Saturday afternoon in Milwaukee. Andrew Rowsey, the Big East’s leading scorer, poured in 35 points on 9-of-18 shooting, including 6-of-9 from deep and 11-of-11 from the free throw line. The Hoyas, who committed a season-high 25 turnovers, were led by Marcus Derrickson’s 20 points and eight rebounds.

Georgetown was first on the board following a pair of free throws from Jessie Govan after 16 seconds of play, but the lead would last for less than a minute of game time. Rowsey quickly responded with a jumper before the team’s exchanged baskets for the following six minutes. Then, Rowsey added a tip-in to give the Golden Eagles a one-point lead with 13:20 remaining, a lead which they would not surrender for the rest of the game.

The Hoyas cut the lead to three after a Jagan Mosely layup with just under seven minutes remaining, but Marquette unleashed an 8-0 run in the following 1:33, capped by a Jamal Cain 3-pointer, to open a comfortable double-digit lead, marking the first time Georgetown had faced a deficit greater than eight points this season. From there, neither team was able to gain a strong grip on the game, with both offenses lagging. Govan was fouled on a last-second 3-point attempt and converted each of his free throws to bring the Hoyas within seven, 34-27, at the half.

After the intermission, a balanced scoring attack allowed Marquette to open up a sizeable lead. Four of the Golden Eagles’ five starters scored in the opening minutes of the half, and a 3-pointer from Rowsey extended the lead to double-digits with 13:52 remaining. Markus Howard added two 3-pointers in the following four minutes to extend the lead to 15 points.

On the other end, the Hoyas struggled to find any offense outside of Derrickson, who scored 17 second-half points. His 3-pointer with 4:26 remaining cut the lead the single digits, while Jamorko Pickett added a 3-pointer of his own two minutes later to make it a six-point game. But the comeback effort was stopped short by Rowsey’s hot shooting and the Hoyas’ lackadaisical ball control. Rowsey converted on a running 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to extend the lead to nine with 1:00 to play, but Georgetown committed two turnovers in the final minute, nullifying any comeback hopes.

Marquette will travel to Providence for a date with the Friars (10-4, 1-0 Big East) on Jan. 3, while Georgetown will travel to Chicago for a meeting with DePaul (7-7, 0-1 Big East) on Jan. 2.