Blanchette: Hoyas disproved Jim Hayford’s prediction

PORTLAND – Sometimes it’s not the midnight toll that brings Cinderella back to reality. Sometimes it’s a blackjack and an Uzi. The mugging and strafing indulged in by the Georgetown Hoyas on Thursday night served as a reminder to the Eastern Washington Eagles that there’s a different edge to big-boy basketball in March. And so the Eagles’ most remarkable basketball season is over, and a good time was had by all – except for the 13 minutes of pure hell they endured in an 84-74 loss that capped another first day of true madness in the NCAA tournament. The sad end was not a complete regret, however. “I’m glad we were playing basketball,” said EWU coach Jim Hayford. “I wouldn’t want to wrestle or play football with them.” As is their habit, the 13th-seeded Eagles made things interesting late, cutting a 23-point Hoyas lead to seven, thriving in the late-game pressure without which they almost seem naked and lost in the wilderness. It’s the kind of dig-in and fire that was the signature of this 26-9 season, and which birthed the famed all-in prediction by the coach that went national on Wednesday. Nonetheless, Hayford’s return engagement with Jim Rome has been indefinitely postponed. When it was all over, the Eagles trudged dispiritedly to the exit without so much as a nod toward the army of supporters who’d made the trip down the gorge for the spectacle – at least until sophomore Felix Von Hofe stopped his teammates just before they disappeared under the stands to muster up some brief but appreciative applause. Hey, this was their first time back in 11 years. They’re allowed not to have the hang of everything yet. For about 15 minutes of clock time, though, that cluster of red in the stands got exactly what it came for – the Eagles winging in five straight 3-pointers in one stretch. Venky Jois quickly sent 6-foot-10, 350-pound Josh Smith to the bench with two fouls, his fifth gear producing 19 points. And the game was tilting toward Eastern’s rhythm. It even seemed, briefly, as if the Hoyas weren’t running the Princeton offense so much as the Princeton intramural offense. And then the shots started falling. This may have been Eastern’s defense, which except for a few key games in midseason was not exactly the Lockdown Express – and rarely had to be. “We were trying to focus on inside-out defense against them,” guard Tyler Harvey said, “because they can pound it inside. We forced the kickouts and they knocked them down.” Did they ever. By halftime, the Hoyas – a 34.7 percent shooting team from 3 – had made 7 of 13. For the game, it was 11 of 23. So they were open enough – and motivated. See, they heard Hayford’s radio prediction, too. “So he guaranteed victory,” said Georgetown coach John Thompson III. “And you know, maybe it’s just me, but when I think of that, I think of Joe Willie Namath, I think of Muhammad Ali, I think Larry Bird and the 3-point shooting contest. “The kids brought it to me and said, ‘Their coach is guaranteeing victory.’ I kind of looked down there at him and thought, he didn’t fit the bill of guys who usually guarantee victory. Our guys were fired up about that.” Which kind of took the air out of Hayford’s claim that “I don’t think that motivated them.” Still, he wouldn’t take it back, either. “I wouldn’t have wanted to play this game without my team having full confidence,” he said. If Georgetown’s determination showed in its shooting, it showed even more in the Hoyas’ physical approach – which seemed to amp up late in the second half in a scramble for a loose ball that saw Harvey pushed to the court. The junior played it off as if the contact was the result of a slip on a wet spot, but it was at that point when things went seriously south for the Eagles, who were outscored 15-4 to close the half. And then 15-2 to open the second half. Eight points – all off the offensive glass – by 7-foot sub Bradley Hayes and his 0.5 scoring average couldn’t have been bigger. “We don’t have those kinds of teams in the Big Sky,” Harvey said. The late comeback was a nice touch, but not a difference maker. It allowed Harvey, who finished with 27 points, to put on a show (“Crazy shots – like from the volleyball hashmark,” said Hoya Jabril Trawick). And Hayford may have wished for 5 more minutes for the Eagles to work their magic – but really, he wanted more. “I just wish practice for next year could start tomorrow,” he said, “because I really, really love the heart and fiber of the guys on my team.” What’s not to love? Except the toll of midnight.