At the beginning of Big East play this season, Georgetown was one of the hottest teams in the country. But on Wednesday, as losers of nine of their last 12, the Hoyas desperately needed to rekindle that early season fire. A quick trip to Tampa may have been the solution.
The Hoyas (14-10, 5-8 Big East) coasted to victory over lowly South Florida (8-17, 3-10 Big East), 65-40, setting themselves up for the regular season’s home stretch with a confidence-building win.
Early on, the Bulls gave Georgetown every opportunity to pull away, not connecting on a field goal until over six minutes had elapsed off the clock. The Hoyas started sluggishly too, though, and with 8:03 to play in the first half led by only two points.
But over the next four minutes Georgetown came alive. Greg Monroe hit four free throws, and senior Jessie Sapp scored eight points, including back-to-back treys, as part of a 16-0 Hoya run.
“[During the run] I felt like we got every rebound, we really limited them to one shot and then were able to execute at the other end.” Coach John Thompson III said. “Jessie Sapp came in and gave us a huge boost.”
In his second consecutive game coming off the bench, Sapp showed that he is not going to end his career by simply fading away. He scored 10 points with an efficient 4-for-6 shooting performance.
Chris Wright built on the momentum from his performance against Syracuse, leading all scorers with 17 points while dishing out six assists. Down low, center Greg Monroe posted his second straight double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Georgetown entered the second half up 34-17. Despite a few sloppy plays, the Hoyas never allowed USF to make a serious run.
“There were a few lapses, but there weren’t as many hills and valleys as we’ve been seeing,” Thompson said.
The Hoya defense was in control the whole game, limiting USF to 31.9 percent from the field. Guard Dominique Jones scored 12 points, but on lousy 5-for-16 shooting. The Bulls failed to capitalize in the one place Georgetown defenders could not affect them, shooting 5-for-13 from the free throw line.
Such an authoritative win could not have come at a better time for Georgetown, as they prepare to take on No. 11 Marquette on Saturday.
“I hope going into the game Saturday we have a lot of confidence,” Wright said. “Hopefully this just is a boost.”
