Georgetown knocks off Seton Hall in Big East Tournament semifinal

The Georgetown Hoyas are now 40 minutes away from a Big East Championship.

The 8-seeded Hoyas defeated the 5-seeded Seton Hall Pirates in Friday’s semifinal action. Georgetown’s 66-58 victory secures them of their first berth in a Big East Tournament final since way back in 2010.

In the opening minutes, Georgetown roared out to an impressive start. They led 22-13 at the 10:14 mark, this after a quick 7-0 run. Georgetown stretched their lead out to as large as 11 points in the first half, keeping a stranglehold on their foes. But Seton Hall, to their credit, didn’t relent. The Pirates cut it back down to two with 22 seconds to go, and so the score was 36-34 in favor of Georgetown.

Seton Hall would continue to make things interesting. Georgetown wouldn’t lead by any more than five in the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Pirates would then soon take the lead with 6:19 remaining. Thanks to buckets by Jared Rhoden and Sandro Mamukelashvili, the game would be tied at times. However, Georgetown kept it going. A layup and a free throw by Chudier Bile gave the Hoyas the lead with 1:38 remaining. Then, six consecutive made free throws would propel them to a tourney final berth.

Three players from Georgetown got into double figures. Jamorko Pickett, Dante Harris, and Qudus Wahab stood out, giving the Hoyas 19, 15, and 10 points. Harris and Pickett accounted for four of Georgetown’s six made threes, the other two going to Bile and Jahvon Blair. They shot 50 percent from 3-point land, maintaining their status as one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the conference.

Seton Hall was led by Rhoden, who scored a game-high 22 points. Mamu struggled, shooting 3-for-16 from the field on the night. He did get 10 rebounds and managed eight points, but he was obviously not his usual, dynamic self. Shavar Reynolds had eight points as well, but no other Pirate claimed more than six.

Georgetown will face Creighton in the tournament final on Saturday night.