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Men's Basketball
at Pitt (Exhibition)
2:00 p.m.
Providence College Athletics
Saturday, January 9
Washington, DC
12:00 PM
Providence College
70
at
75
Georgetown
Men's Hoops Falls to Georgetown
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
January 9, 1999
WASHINGTON - John Thompson watched from a luxury suite. Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning were seated behind the bench. What they saw was a spirited comeback that started the Craig Esherick era at Georgetown with a victory.
The day after Thompson quit in his 27th year as coach, the Hoyas rallied from six points down in the final eight minutes against a team that had won four straight. Nat Burton and Kevin Braswell scored 20 points apiece in Georgetown's 75-70 victory over Providence Saturday, ending the Hoyas' three-game losing streak.
At the end of the game, Thompson stood high in the mezzanine, waved his arms and pumped his fists as thousands among the emotional MCI Center crowd waved back.
Braswell hit a 3-pointer with 2:11 remaining, giving Georgetown (8-6, 1-4 Big East) the lead for good at 67-65. The Hoyas defense held Providence (10-5, 3-3) to one field goal over the final 4:26.
Jamel Thomas led Providence with 17 points, but he missed all seven shots from the field in the first half and was in foul trouble most of the game.
The Friars led 61-55 with 8:04 to play, but a pair of 3-pointers by Braswell helped close the gap to 63-62 and lifted the crowd to its feet.
The 0-4 start had been Georgetown's worst ever in the Big East, but it was for personal reasons that Thompson suddenly stepped aside Friday. Even the pregame media notes still listed Thompson as the coach.
Thompson chatted with well-wishers outside the locker room before tipoff and watched the game from a luxury suite, well out of the spotlight. Prompted by the public address announcer, the crowd gave him a standing ovation for his long service to the university after the lineups were announced, but few people realized where the ex-coach was sitting.
Esherick also got a partial standing ovation when he walked on the floor, and several fans came forward to shake his hand. He got a bigger ovation when his team left the floor at halftime with a 37-36 lead. He also was quick to put his own stamp on the team's playing rotation, giving walk-on senior Dean Berry more court time than usual.
But, overall, the Georgetown bench just didn't look the same - resembling the cast of a favorite TV show suddenly missing its star. Esherick sat in his usual spot in the middle of the bench, next to assistant Mike Riley, and his demeanor wasn't much different from his 17 years under Thompson. He sat leaning forward, hands clasped, and stood occassionally to shout instructions in a manner nowhere near as imposing as Thompson's.
The Esherick era got off to a quick start, with Georgetown taking a 12-3 lead before a 9-0 run by Providence tied the score. The teams stayed close the rest of the first half.
By JOSEPH WHITE
AP Sports Writer
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