Lobos Aw-Struck By Hoyas’ Switch

Boubacar Aw politely listened to John Thompson’s halftime speech, and then made one of his own.

With Georgetown down by three points at the half, Thompson, the Hoyas’ coach, lectured his players on playing the trapping, zone defense that hadn’t done much to stop New Mexico.

But Aw, a sophomore forward, had other ideas.

“After I was finished, Boubacar said, ‘Coach, let us go man and we’ll get ‘em.’ ” Thompson said. “I said, ‘Do it.’ So much for my knowledge. They went out and played man-to-man and that turned the game around for us.”

Georgetown forced 10 second-half turnovers, converting three into fast-break baskets in a 14-5 run that sent the Hoyas to a 73-62 win Sunday over the Lobos in the second round of the NCAA East Regional.

Allen Iverson, in foul trouble for the fourth straight game, scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half for the Hoyas. Victor Page added 14 points and Jerome Williams had 13 and 11 rebounds for Georgetown (28-7).

Clayton Shields scored 19 points for New Mexico (28-5), which had its 11-game winning streak snapped.

In addition to the defensive switch, Georgetown benefited from New Mexico’s foul problems. The Lobos had four of their five starters in foul trouble by the end of the first half. The Lobos had four of their five starters in foul trouble by the end of the first half. Shields and David Gibson both picked up three before intermission, while Kenny Thomas, Greg Shornstein and sixth man Royce Olney each had two.

Freshman center Thomas fouled out with 7:20 to play, and Georgetown’s big men - especially Jahidi White, who had 12 rebounds - had their way against replacement Marty Cotwright. The Hoyas outrebounded the Lobos 45-35.

“We don’t have enough players that we can go out and foul indiscriminately,” New Mexico coach Dave Bliss said. “Maybe if John Thompson had let me keep Thomas in the game, we’d have done it.”

There were two major areas of concern for the Hoyas as they advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second straight year: free-throw shooting and Iverson’s fouls.

Georgetown missed 18 of 31 from the line, and Thompson was asked the last time he could remember his team doing so poorly.

“Every day for the last 10 years, maybe 20,” Thompson said. “We practice like hell, too. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t worry about them. If they go in, I get scared.”

Georgetown 73, New Mexico 62

New Mexico (28-5) - Shornstein 2-4 0-0 5, Shields 6-14 5-8 19, Thomas 3-5 3-5 9, Gibson 4-7 1-2 9, Smith 5-21 2-2 13, Olney 2-2 3-3 7, Cotwright 0-2 0-0 0, Santiago 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-55 14-20 62.

Georgetown (28-7) - Aw 2-3 1-6 5, Williams 6-8 1-4 13, Harrington 1-6 3-6 5, Iverson 9-20 3-6 25, Page 5-14 4-6 14, Touomou 0-0 0-0 0, Dia 1-2 0-0 2, Nichols 0-0 0-0 0, White 4-6 1-3 9. Totals 28-59 13-31 73.

Halftime-New Mexico 35, Georgetown 32. 3-Point goals- New Mexico 4-17 (Shields 2-7, Smith 1-7, Shornstein 1-3), Georgetown 4-15 (Iverson 4-11, Page 0-4). Fouled out-Thomas, White. Rebounds-New Mexico 35 (Shornstein, Thomas 7), Georgetown 45 (White 12). Assists-New Mexico 12 (Shornstein 6), Georgetown 8 (Williams, Harrington, Iverson 2). Total fouls- New Mexico 23, Georgetown 19. A-11,859.

Texas Tech 92, North Carolina 73

Texas Tech was filled with plenty of emotion and passion, even before Darvin Ham destroyed the backboard with a resounding first-half dunk.

After that, though, the Red Raiders simply couldn’t be stopped.

Jason Sasser scored 27 points and Ham swung the momentum in Texas Tech’s favor with his devastating jam as the Red Raiders reached the final 16 of the NCAA tournament by trouncing the Tar Heels.

Ham tore down the rim with an emphatic follow shot with 7:54 elapsed, tying the score at 16.

“I was already pumped up - we all were - but that play just set it off,” Ham said. “I just wanted to run around the court and do backflips.”

Instead, both teams were dismissed to their lockers, and the game was delayed 26 minutes while crews at the Richmond Coliseum cleaned the glass off the floor and replaced the basket.

When the game resumed, Texas Tech went on a 10-0 run to take the lead for good. Sasser and Cory Carr hit successive 3-pointers, Carr followed with a layup and Tony Battie scored from the baseline to make it 26-16.

Third-seeded Texas Tech (30-1) will bring a 23-game winning streak, best in the nation, into Thursday’s East Regional title game against Georgetown.

North Carolina (21-11) - Okulaja 2-6 2-2 6, Jamison 7-10 2-5 16, Zwikker 0-3 2-2 2, McInnis 8-20 0-0 19, Calabria 3-11 2-2 8, Williams 2-5 1-3 7, Neal 0-0 0-0 0, Sullivan 0-0 0-0 0, Carter 4-7 2-2 12, Tyndall 0-0 0-0 0, McNairy 0-0 1-2 1, Geth 1-2 0-0 2, Lynn 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-65 12-18 73.

Texas Tech (30-1) - Ham 7-7 0-3 14, Sasser 10-13 3-4 27, Battie 4-7 7-10 16, Smith 3-8 4-5 13, Martin 0-2 3-4 3, Barnes 0-1 0-0 0, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Bonewitz 0-1 0-0 0, Carr 6-12 3-4 19, Cooper 0-0 0-0 0, Roberts 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-51 20-30 92.

Halftime-Texas Tech 44, North Carolina 32. 3-Point goals- North Carolina 7-26 (McInnis 3-9, Williams 2-4, Carter 2-4, Geth 0-1, Lynn 0-1, Okulaja 0-3, Calabria 0-4), Texas Tech 12-26 (Sasser 4-6, Carr 4-9, Smith 3-6, Battie 1-2, Martin 0-1, Barnes 0-1, Bonewitz 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-North Carolina 33 (Jamison 8), Texas Tech 33 (Battie 14). Assists- North Carolina 13 (Calabria 6), Texas Tech 22 (Martin 10). Total fouls-North Carolina 22, Texas Tech 19. A-11,859.