Villanova skates by Georgetown, 70-69

The Villanova Wildcats have put themselves in position to fetch at least a share of the Big East Championship.

‘Nova’s 70-69 win over the Georgetown Hoyas propped them up to 13-5 in Big East play. With the Seton Hall Pirates and Creighton Bluejays playing out in Omaha, the ‘Cats now will sit back and see if the Jays can assure them of a share of the championship, or if they will be left looking on the outside.

Despite Georgetown’s best efforts, they were bested in this one. And credit to the Hoyas - they certainly brought their best efforts. Even without the presence of Mac McClung and Omer Yurtseven, the Hoyas held a lead as large as four points at the 2:13 mark of the second half. But a late run, spun by the play of Wooden Award semifinalist Saddiq Bey, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Jermaine Samuels, ‘Nova was able to elude defeat and pull away with a one-point squeak.

Granted, it didn’t come easy. Nor did it come without some controversy. A goaltend/block call in the late stages of the game put Georgetown on their heels quite a bit. And unfortunately for the Hoyas, they were not the beneficiaries of the call. Sometimes that’s just the way it goes, but it’s absolutely a hard pill to swallow for the Hoyas. Especially given how much they pushed ‘Nova down the stretch.

Jamorko Pickett led all scorers on Saturday with 20 points on a 7-for-9 day from the floor. He went 4-for-5 from 3-Point Land, the most 3-pointers of anyone in the game. He was joined in double figures by Terrell Allen who had 17, and Jagan Mosely who posted 13 points. Qudus Wahab came up just short with nine points, while Jahvon Blair scored seven. Timothy Ighoefe rounded things out for the Hoyas with three points.

Elsewhere, Villanova collected double-figure performances from five different players. Bey led the team with 18 points, and Samuels and Robinson-Earl each chipped in 13. Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore, meanwhile, were not to be outdone as they each dropped in 11 points. Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree finished things out with four points of his own in 12 minutes of action.