Monroe’s layup with 6.5 seconds to play saves No. 19 Georgetown; Hoyas beat Owls 46-45

Monroe’s layup gives No. 19 Georgetown 46-45 win

WASHINGTON — Greg Monroe scored on a driving layup with 6.5 seconds to play, rescuing No. 19 Georgetown from a lackluster Tuesday afternoon performance to give the Hoyas a 46-45 win over Temple.

Georgetown won despite having more fouls (18) and turnovers (16) than made baskets (15). The Hoyas blew a 12-point second-half lead, shot 36 percent from the field and 3 for 18 from 3-point range.

Chris Wright had 15 points, and Monroe had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Hoyas (2-0). Lavoy Allen had 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Owls (1-1), who nearly recovered from an abysmal first half to pull out the win.

Temple could have put the game away if it had made its free throws down the stretch. The Owls made 6 of 13, and Ramone Moore’s miss on the front end of a 1-and-1 with a one-point lead and 23 seconds to play gave Monroe and the Hoyas the chance to win it.

After Monroe scored, the Owls had a final chance to win, but Juan Fernandez was tied up for a jump ball while driving to the basket with 1.3 seconds to play.

Temple had won 68 straight games when holding opponents to under 50 points.

This was the 4 p.m. game in ESPN’s 24-hour Tip-Off Marathon, but it was more suited for 6 a.m., should’ve-stayed-in-bed snoozer. The halftime score was 19-13, with Georgetown leading by default. Here are more ugly facts from one of the worst halves of basketball ever seen at the Verizon Center:

—There were more combined fouls (14) and turnovers (13) than made baskets (12).

—Both teams shot 1 for 10 from 3-point range.

—Ryan Brooks, who scored 23 points in Temple’s season-opening win over Delaware, was 0 for 6 with two turnovers. He finished the game 2 for 14. Monroe, the Big East rookie of the year last season, was 1 for 5 with three turnovers in the half.

Was it because of good defense? Not really. Each team had only one steal.

Temple shot 19 percent (5 for 26), Georgetown a relatively robust 30 percent (7 for 23). During one painful stretch, the teams combined to miss 11 straight shots.

The Hoyas appeared to get their act together at the start of the second half, opening with an 8-2 run, but Allen and Moore started playing as if they were ready to lead the Owls to a third straight Atlantic 10 title. A 24-6 run gave Temple a six-point lead and all the momentum, but Monroe looped in a high shot on a baseline drive and added a free throw for a three-point play that started a 9-0 Hoyas run.

Monroe finished the run with another three-point play to make the score 42-39, but Craig Williams’ 3-pointer tied the score again with 4:53 to play. The Hoyas didn’t regain the lead until Monroe’s game-winner.