Best home win you've experienced in person?

[FLHoya]

stpetersburghoya said:

No one has said Pitt 2006 yet - but that would definitely be #4 on my list. I think the crowd was louder for that game than the Duke game - especially Brandon's filthy block of Krauser in the last 5 minutes.

I did a list of a my 10 favorite MCI Center moments after the Syracuse game in February. The Pitt game didn't make the cut--for some reason, in the recent GU-Pitt rivalry, a double digit first half lead has meant ABSOLUTELY NOTHING...so the eventual comeback we made seemed like an inevitability to me, even when we were down big. Had it not been so close to the Duke game, might've been different...the dominant memory I have of the Pitt game (other than Jeff Green hideously abusing Pitt's front line in the second half and Ashanti Cook breaking Ronald Ramon's ankles) is us convincing kids NOT to rush the court.

I took out the games that we LOST (it's best home WIN after all), but here's the rest of the list:

10. January 20, 2004: Georgetown 71-St. John’s 69: Perhaps it was, in some small way, revenge for the Marcus Hatten game. In perhaps the most miraculous development ever in my time at the MCI Center, Craig Esherick designed a successful end-of-game play, as Ashanti Cook drove and dished to Courtland Freeman for an emphatic dunk with less than a second to go.

6. February 25, 2006: Georgetown 68-Syracuse 53: A perfect ending to an amazing run of games and experiences at the MCI Center.

5. December 16, 2000: Georgetown 123-Howard 90: My first game as a student at the MCI Center. After a series of cupcakes at McDonough Arena to open the season, I stayed an extra day after my last exam to catch the Hoyas’ first game downtown. Unfortunately, about twelve hours before the game, I severely sprained my ankle playing Midnight ultimate Frisbee on Copley Lawn. When I woke up in the morning, my ankle was about twice its normal size, I couldn’t stand up in the shower, and I was making plans to go to the Georgetown Hospital. I called my mom to tell her I was going to the E.R., and the first words out of her mouth were: “You’re not gonna miss the game, are you?” Needless to say, an hour later I was in the student section, wearing only one shoe and propped up on a railing. But I got to see my first MCI game, and the highest scoring GU output ever at the Phone Booth.

4. January 28, 2002: Georgetown 75-Syracuse 60: A game that really only needs two words to describe: Preston’s Crying.

3. January 23, 2005: Georgetown 55-Notre Dame 54: The game that gave birth to the Legend of Roy Hibbert, scores of nodak songs, and really jump started the revival of Georgetown’s student section. One of my favorite moments as a Georgetown fan was after I got back into the student section from the court following the game, I was standing on the staircase minding my own business, and out of nowhere I hear “JOOOOOOOHNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!” I turn around and nearly get blindsided by Kurt Muhlbauer. I told him: “Now you know what this is like.” Who knew there’d be so many more like it only a season later.

2. February 24, 2001: Georgetown 72-Syracuse 61: The first “big game” I went to at the MCI Center, and my first taste of Georgetown’s biggest rivalry. I had never heard an arena go so crazy at once as when Demetrius Hunter connected on the most unbelievable dunk I’ve seen in person at a Hoyas game during our opening run. I still have the image of Kevin Braswell dribbling out the clock in my head, as the student section made their way into the aisles and onto the court, the Hoyas having all but secured an NCAA Tournament berth in one great afternoon.

1. January 21, 2006: Georgetown 87-Duke 84: When the final buzzer sounded sometime around 3:30pm, it had been roughly 17 hours since I’d arrived in front of the MCI Center with Hoya Blue to camp out for this game. The best answer I can give as to why a 23-year old two years removed from Georgetown would do such a thing is—because you never know when a game like this might happen.

[prhoya]

Every single one from 1987 through 1991... that rejection row game is up there... another one against Villanova was awesome... we escorted some Villanova students to the Beltway all the while honking the horn at them... remember, Rick?

[Filo]

nodak89 said:

1987
Georgetown 83, Syracuse 81
Capital Centre, Landover, MD

Without a reliable big man, John Thompson surprises everyone by matching 6-4 guard Perry McDonald in the pivot against Syracuse's 6-11 Rony Seikaly. The fearless McDonald scores a career high 23 against Seikaly, and wins the game at the buzzer over the Orangemen before a national TV audience.

courtesy www.hoyabasketball.com

That's probably mine, too. Perry was a monster.

I am still trying to figure out if that is the same game that we all wore the Boeheim masks (Seikaly put one on during the warm-ups). Might also be the game my roommate hit a half-court shot at halftime and won two free tickes in the contintal US. Awesome memories, even if they are all starting to merge together...

[JB5]

1) Duke this year -- we're back!
2) SU in '87 -- Seikaly and Coleman outplayed by Perry McDonald, Ronnie Highsmith and (I think) Anthony Allen
3) '84 destruction of a top 5 DePaul team at the Cap Centre. Some of the fiercest D I've ever seen

[Deleted]

1) 'Cuse in '01
2) Duke in '06
3) Everything else...

Yeah, Duke meant so much for the turnaround of the program, but the 'Cuse game came while I was actually on campus. First meaningful win in my (at that time) three years there.

[miamihoya]

Duke 2006...no doubt

[Coast2CoastHoya]

#1 - Duke, 2006 (needs no parenthetical, but there you go)
#2 - Syracuse, 2006 (what I've termed "The Perfect Day," from the game, to the Channel, to Baja Fresh, to the Tombs, to the Grafiti Party, to ... the Tombs!)
#3 - Syracuse, 2002 (last 'Cuse game of my college career ... sniff)
#4 - Notre Dame, 2005 (Roy! RoyRoyRoy!)
#5 - Syracuse, 2001 (the DUNK that officially welcomed me home from study abroad)
#6 - Pitt, Super Bowl Sunday 2006 (validating our sesason and seeing HoyaDestroya get in that Steelers fan's face and clapping ... a favorite 121 moment)

Honorable Mention - St. John's this year (but only because I won Fan of the Game and got free drinks from half of Clyde's after )

[FromTheBeginning]

1) Duke this year

2) It's so long ago I can't remember the exact year - I think JT's 3rd year - we beat St John's for the first time under JT @ McD - St John's team with Frankie Alagia & Beaver Smith - I'm pretty sure 99% of you have no idea what I'm talking about - but it was one of the 1st big games where we could finally see where this was all heading - a place we had only dreamed
about in the 60's.

[HoyaChris]

1. Duke this year.
2. Beating Maryland at the Cap center in December 1978. Sleepy's coming out party. We beat them later that year in the NCAAs to start a 15 year run as the best team in DC area.
3. Ranked Georgetown over ranked Detroit at McDonough in February 1978. Craig Shelton jams the winning basket down Terry tyler's throat in an 83-82 win.
4. De Paul in 1984. We blow out the #2 ranked team in the country by 20. We mock Joey Meyer's complexion incessantly, cracking up the De Paul bench.
5. Georgetown over Syracuse 83-81 in 1986-87. The Reggie and the Miracles team beats the Orange 83-81 as 6-4 Perry McDonald destroys 6-11 Rony Seikaly.
6. 74-73 over #12 ranked St John's in McDonough in February 1976. Freshman Al Dutch goes for about 27.

[YB]

Since everyone is giving a top 10 list, I'll add a couple more to my top 3:

4. vs SU, 2001: I'll always remember RBB's 2 consectuive blocks. Student section goes wild. Alums toasting the Hoyas in the Acela Club.

5. vs Providence, 1994 (December): AI's first BE game. A PC team with Eric Williams, Austin Croshere, and a good backcourt blows the hell out of the Hoyas for 3/4 of the game, Hoyas down by 15 with 8 mins left. Then AI, with 4 fouls no less, leads a huge comeback, and the Hoyas win it on a Jerome Williams putback of an AI miss with 3 secs left. AI runs off the floor pumping both fists in the air, fans waving towels.... great memory.

6. vs. SHU, 2001. Everyone thought we'd lose this game bc Amaker's Hall squad was anked 8th and we played a shockingly uncharacteristically weak non-conf sched. Lee Scruggs hit three consecutive 3s to put us ahead for good- this began the implosion of the SHU squad and the rise of Generation Burton.

[DFW HOYA]

It doesn't matter which games are in a top 10, but that today's students and young alumni have some games of their own to treasure and to carry with them. I realize it doesn't mean much to a 20 year old to hear us veterans speak fondly of playing Missouri before nearly 5,000 at McD--it's ancient history and one which they really can't share in.

And with their own memories of the wins, they can carry along the grudges towards that one or two opponents they won't soon forget, either. For some older classes, it's names like Leonard Drake, Steve Waite, John Bagley, Chris Mullin, Harold Jensen, Billy Owens, Ray Allen, etc. Add a Gerry Mac and a Joakim Noah to that list of memories, too.

[ltmhoya]

From 1983- 2003 I might have missed one home game. My wife caught me going to the UConn game on our wedding anniversity. Needless to say, I am no longer married. LOL. The best game that I went to was a game that was played at McDonough because of the snow storm we experienced. In the 1983-84 season we were to play Providence at the USAir arena, but because of the weather they rescheduled it at Georgetown. I walked from downtown and it was completely sold out. I did get in and sat on the floor at the far end of the gym on the baseline. Otis Thorpe was a man-child and it was a great physical game. Patrick was the man over and over again. The place was electric.
If there is still a BlackFrancis on the board and you have my Georgetown and Iverson tapes, please email me at GRZell4. This is the original LTM- Listen to me. Georgetown Forever.

[HoyaChris]

dfw said:

It doesn't matter which games are in a top 10, but that today's students and young alumni have some games of their own to treasure and to carry with them. I realize it doesn't mean much to a 20 year old to hear us veterans speak fondly of playing Missouri before nearly 5,000 at McD--it's ancient history and one which they really can't share in.

And with their own memories of the wins, they can carry along the grudges towards that one or two opponents they won't soon forget, either. For some older classes, it's names like Leonard Drake, Steve Waite, John Bagley, Chris Mullin, Harold Jensen, Billy Owens, Ray Allen, etc. Add a Gerry Mac and a Joakim Noah to that list of memories, too.

A few more names to hate - Randy Duffin, Danny Kotak, Ronny Valentine, Lewis Lloyd, Sherman Douglas.

[theEDGEfactor]

wish i could say a game but prolly have been to 7-8 games at gtown and all have been losses

[aggypryd]

I've only been to 2...and they were both this past season...Savannah St. and 'Cuse...

I'll go with Savannah St....

[DanMcQ]

theedgefactor said:

wish i could say a game but prolly have been to 7-8 games at gtown and all have been losses

Time to revoke your home game pass! ;D

For me:

1.) 2-22-78: Hoyas 78, GW 77 in OT

2.) 1-21-06: Hoyas 87, Duke 84

3.) 2-11-78: Hoyas 83, Detroit 82

[casualhoya]

Two others of note for me:

1) Home game against Memphis in '96 on national tv. The game was 40 minutes of fast-breaks and dunks. Memphis had Lorenzen Wright and that freak Michael Wilson jumping out of the gym but still couldn't contain A.I and Vic show.

2) Random home game in '96 against (irrelevant) where I was pounding bread as I attempted, and completed, the Century Club afterwards in Village C East.

[Elvado]

Since I started this thread, i reserve the right to add to my first post.

February 1984, Hoyas destroy BYu and that fraud Devin Durrant. Prov Hoya and I are in first row and among other fine actions that day, manage to throw ice into the Cheerleaders' megaphones and proposition the BYU cheerleaders "Hey, why don't you all marry us?"

Really fine behavior and not a hint of religious intolerance to be found.

[VelvetElvis]

I will be the first to say it officially.

Elvado, if you make it down to DC next season we HAVE to hang!

[Elvado]

Deal. So long as my boy Prov Hoya makes the journey.