There was no hangover.
The Georgetown men’s basketball team (5-3, Big East) dominated Brown (3-6, Ivy League) 74-57 Monday night at Verizon Center, following an emotional victory against rival Syracuse on Saturday. The win extends the Hoyas’ winning streak to four games.
The Blue and Gray led wire-to-wire as sophomore guard LJ Peak scored 13 points, and senior center Bradley Hayes posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Junior guard Steven Spieth recorded 13 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Bears, who never really threatened against the bigger Georgetown side. The Hoyas shot 49 percent from the field, making 8-of-23 three pointers, and held Brown to 28 percent shooting.
The Hoyas raced out to a 21-4 lead in the opening minutes and never looked back, using their size advantage to own a 26-13 rebounding advantage in the first half. Brown shot 23 percent in the first half and turned it over eight times. Brown Head Coach Mike Martin was disappointed with the first half execution, but pointed out the resiliency of his team in the second half.
“That first half, I’m not sure we can be any worse,” Martin said. “They took us out of a lot that we have been pretty successful with offensively. I’m happy with how we continued to fight and play for the next 20 minutes.”
Depth was another key factor for the Hoyas. The team went 11 players deep in the first half, with the bench contributing quality minutes.
“I don’t think it’s that abnormal,” said Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III, “We’ve been playing nine, 10 guys all the time. We can go 11 or 12 deep without much drop off.”
The Hoyas got strong minutes off the bench from freshman forward Kaleb Johnson and freshman center Jessie Govan, who both chipped in with 6 points and sustained energy on both ends of the floor. To Thompson, the production from the youngsters was nothing out of the ordinary.
“They’re good players,” said Thompson. “It’s not the first time they’ve come in and contributed. I don’t think today was an opening up of the skies for them, but what they did today, they’ve been doing.”
At the half, the Hoyas were shooting 57 percent from the field and 54 percent from three-point range. While senior guard D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera led the pack with 10 points heading into halftime, Georgetown spread the ball around offensively, with six players contributing at least five points by the end of the first 20 minutes.
While the Hoyas shot well and locked the Bears down defensively, Georgetown struggled with both fouls and turnovers. The team had 22 fouls on the night and gave up the ball 18 times, primarily in the second half. Brown capitalized on these to outscore Georgetown by 14 after halftime, but couldn’t overcome the once 31-point lead.
At times, the game became heated. Early in the second half, the teams exchanged words after Peak and the Bears’ sophomore guard Justin Massey tangled fighting for a rebound. Freshman forward Marcus Derrickson was assessed a flagrant foul after an incidental elbow. Thompson was also assessed as technical, his first since Jan. 2013, after arguing with official Jeff Anderson.
Georgetown returns to action Saturday afternoon at Verizon Center to face UNC Wilmington (5-0, CAA) as part of the BB&T Classic. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m.
For additional news and notes from today’s game, click here.
Great article. I’m afraid the headline is a little obvious though. Love, grandma.