Bouncing back from their tough non-conference loss to the University of Georgia, the Hoyas took their next four games in blowout fashion defeating Coastal Carolina, Towson, Grambling State and Bethune-Cookman.
Still, the Hoyas have been beset by injuries losing junior guard Trenton Hillier, first-year forward Harvey Thomas, first-year guard Tony Bethel and most importantly, last year’s leading scorer, sophomore forward Mike Sweetney, all for various ailments.
Fortunately, Sweetney’s injury, a mild Achilles strain suffered in the Towson win, will not sideline him for very long. As of now, Sweetney is day-to-day, playing two minutes in Wednesday’s game against Bethune-Cookman and he almost certainly will play in the Dec. 6 nationally televised game at South Carolina.
Thomas, recently declared academically eligible to play, injured his left ankle in the first half of the Grambling game and tried to return in the second half but was unable.
“Harvey will definitely be ready for the South Carolina game,” Coach Craig Esherick said.
However, the most serious injury on the Hoyas is Bethel’s. Bethel has infectious mononucleosis and will be sidelined for four to six weeks.
“Its unfortunate,” said Esherick about Bethel’s injury. “You’d ideally like everyone working together in the early part of the season as the team defines itself, but sometimes things come up that are beyond our control. We want to be patient and allow Tony the time he needs to make a complete recovery. We’ll adjust and wait for Tony’s return.”
Also on the injury front, junior forward Courtland Freeman may be suffering from mononucleosis as well, but still played strong minutes the last three games and started against Bethune-Cookman.
In the Coastal Carolina game last Wednesday at McDonough Arena, Sweetney led all scorers and rebounders with a career best 28 points and 10 boards for his eighth career double-double in the Hoyas 76-51 victory.
Junior center Wesley Wilson added 19 points and seven rebounds while senior point guard Kevin Braswell had nine assists and five steals.
The Hoyas’ defense held Coastal Carolina shooting to 26.7 percent in the first half and built a 50-20 lead at intermission. After enduring a 19-6 Carolina run in the middle of the second half, the Hoyas threw up 11 unanswered points to put the visitors away. This game featured the debut of first-year forward Thomas who had four points, four boards and three steals for the winners.
Despite losing Sweetney early in the game, the Hoyas ran through Towson 91-40 last Saturday at McDonough Arena in the first game of the John Thompson Classic.
Picking up the slack for the injured power forward, Braswell had 21 points, seven assists and four steals to move within 90 steals of the NCAA all-time steals record. Also scoring in double figures for Georgetown were sophomore guard Gerald Riley, junior forward Victor Samnick, Wilson and Freeman.
The Hoya defense again smothered the opposition holding Towson to 26 percent shooting and forced 33 turnovers. The second game of the John Thompson Classic will occur on Dec. 20 at the MCI Center in a huge game against ninth-ranked University of Virginia.
Due to all the injuries, the Hoyas had only seven players available for a time against Grambling, and still won convincingly 103-69 last Monday in the debut game at the MCI Center.
The game was filled with double-doubles as Wilson, Samnick and Freeman all posted them for the Hoyas. Wilson led all scorers and rebounders with a career high 23 points and 13 boards. Braswell added 20 points and Riley and Samnick had 18 apiece. The Georgetown defense held strong, forcing Grambling to turn the ball over 21 times and shoot only 33.3 percent.
Last night, the Hoyas defeated Bethune-Cookman for the seventh straight time 91-61. Junior center Wesley Wilson led the Hoyas with 21 points. Senior guard Kevin Braswell added 20 and sophomore guard Gerald Riley had a career high 19.
The Hoyas next game will be at South Carolina on Dec. 6 on ESPN. The next Georgetown home game will be Monday Dec. 10 against Norfolk State at the MCI Center.
