» NCAA Basketball » Hoyas Escape First Round NCAA Scare Behind Roy Hibbert's 17 Points, Defeat Northern Iowa, 54-49
Hoyas Escape First Round NCAA Scare Behind Roy Hibbert's 17 Points, Defeat Northern Iowa, 54-49
Story by: Richard thomas
Posted March 19, 2006
Photos by: Sol tucker
Dayton, OH--
It did not look like Northern Iowa would be 0-4 all time against Big East teams with their first half performance against the Hoyas today in Dayton, but a 6 for 24 effort from the field in the second half sent them packing 54-49 in first round NCAA action from Dayton, Ohio.
The Hoyas who were led by a strong inside performance from Roy Hibbert 17 points and 9 rebounds and a late hot run by Ashanti Cook with 14 points who now advance to face Ohio State on Sunday who defeated Davidson in the first game of the afternoon.
The Hoyas all but shut down the Panthers offensive attack of John Little in the second half. Little had just one bucket in the second half in part of his 17 point, 11 for 17 effort from the field.
"Our guys played great defense in the second half and their (Northern Iowa's) offensive breakdown's showed in their inability to get to the basket and our ability to turn up the defense a notch late. We have played a lot of close games like this one during the season and our guys only continue to get better with the close game experience," said Hoyas Head Coach John Thompson III. With the victory today, Georgetown is now 21-2 in NCAA first-round games. The Hoyas (22-9) will face second-seeded Ohio State in the second round Sunday afternoon. The Buckeyes held off 15th-seeded Davidson, 70-62, in the first game before a friendly home crowd.
OTHER NCAA ACTION 1st Round Action From Dayton
OHIO STATE 70, DAVIDSON 62:
If the Hoyas hope to advance to Minneapolis, they will have to stop Ohio State's Ron Lewis, who in the first game in Dayton was a key in the surge in the second half that led the second-seeded Buckeyes over the Davidson Wildcats.
Lewis who came off the bench for State scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half. His key contribution was erasing the numbers from long range where the Buckeyes were 1 for 14 on three-pointers until he hit two in a row to give them their first lead in more than 16 minutes.
"I told these guys after the game that the greatest words you can hear in college basketball are 'Ohio State advances,' and that's what we've done," Coach Thad Matta said.
The Buckeyes (26-5) were in trouble for much of the game, beset by bad shooting and the inspired play of the Wildcats (20-11), the Southern Conference tournament champions.
