Joe Octave poured in a career-high 33 points and made two clutch 3-pointers to guide Holy Cross to a come-from-behind, 68-67 upset of Georgetown on Saturday night in Washington, D.C.
Octave also set a career high with 11 rebounds as the Crusaders (1-1) overcame an 11-point deficit in the final eight minutes of the game to hand their power-conference foes their first loss of the season.
Georgetown (1-1) took its first double-digit lead with 8:35 remaining in the second half. Rowan Brumbaugh appeared unaware the shot clock was ticking down, then turned and lofted a 3-pointer at the buzzer that went down for a 57-46 Hoyas lead.
However, Octave scored the next seven points of the game. Bo Montgomery made one free throw and missed the second, but he grabbed the offensive board and kicked it to Octave for a game-tying 3-pointer with 4:02 left in the half.
Jayden Epps stopped the Crusaders’ 11-0 run with a 3-pointer of his own, ending what was nearly a five-minute Georgetown scoring drought. He sank another triple with two minutes left to make it 67-63.
But after Montgomery made two foul shots, Georgetown’s Supreme Cook went 0-for-2 at the foul line and Octave took advantage, hitting a 3-point dagger with 56 seconds left for Holy Cross’ first lead since 6-3.
The Hoyas would not score on their last two possessions, their inbounds pass with two seconds to go broken up by Octave.
Octave went 12 of 21 from the floor and 7 of 8 at the foul line on his career night. Montgomery added 15 points and eight rebounds as Holy Cross outshot Georgetown 46.3 percent to 36.1 percent.
Epps led Georgetown with 22 points on an inefficient 7-of-19 shooting night. Brumbaugh had 17 points. Cook had 10 rebounds to go with eight points.
Brumbaugh converted a fastbreak layup and rattled in a long 3-pointer to give Georgetown a 13-8 lead after an early deficit. Epps added five points of his own to stretch it to 18-12.
Holy Cross twice drew within one point. Montgomery’s would-be triple at the 7:49 mark was changed to a long 2-pointer on review, making it 24-23.
Despite missing seven of their last 10 shots of the first half, the Hoyas took a 37-32 lead into intermission. Brumbaugh led all scorers with 10 points. The Crusaders stayed in the game by shooting 50 percent (13-for-26) and getting eight points apiece from Montgomery, Octave and Joe Nugent.
–Field Level Media
