Georgetown (4-0, Big East) beat Richmond (1-5, A-10) by a score of 82-76 on Saturday in their lone non-conference road game to remain undefeated in the Patrick Ewing Era. All five starters scored in double digits for the Hoyas, who were led by junior forward Marcus Derrickson with 16 points and nine rebounds. Senior guard Jonathan Mulmore added 15 points and eight assists. The Spiders were led by sophomore guard De’Monte Buckingham and freshman forward Grant Golden, who had 28 and 24 points respectively.
Junior center Jessie Govan won the tip for the Hoyas and quickly got the ball to junior guard/forward Kaleb Johnson who ran the length of the baseline before dunking to give the Hoyas an early lead. Georgetown maintained a lead throughout the first ten minutes of play, until Richmond’s Princeton offense began to break the Hoyas’ defense down. Buckingham got loose for two consecutive back door cuts to give the Spiders the lead midway through the first half. Georgetown would not regain the lead, thanks in part to Golden, who scored 18 of his 24 in the first half, until the last few seconds of the half when Richmond fouled sophomore guard Jagan Mosely on a three-point attempt. Mosely made two of three at the line to give the Hoyas a one point lead at the half.
The second half started evenly, with both teams trading buckets. Govan, who only scored 4 points in the first half, added ten points in the first 9 minutes of the half on the way to a 57-52 Georgetown lead with 11:41 remaining in the game. The spiders, led by Buckingham’s 16 points in the second half, then went on a quick run of their own to retake the lead with nine minutes remaining. On the next possession Derrickson hit a three to put the Hoyas up by one, which would be prove to be the final lead change of the night.
With two minutes remaining, Richmond junior guard Khwan Fore hit a bucket to bring the Spiders within two. Georgetown Head Coach Patrick Ewing promptly called a timeout and the Hoyas executed out of the timeout with a Pickett three from a Mulmore assist. The Spiders then attempted to bring the lead back to two with a missed three point attempt, followed by an offensive rebound and a second miss from behind the arc. Mosely grabbed the rebound with 20 seconds to play, forcing Richmond to foul and sealing the fourth straight win for the Hoyas.
“I think it was big for us to have a close game with a team,” Govan said. “We had to really come together as a team and try to walk out of here with a win. It was definitely a fight.”
The Hoyas once again struggled to maintain control of the ball, committing 18 turnovers, from which the Spiders scored 25 points. Georgetown outrebounded Richmond 35-27, and shot 55.6 percent from three, compared to Richmond’s 25.9 percent.
The Hoyas return to the Capital One Arena to take on Maine on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m., where they will look to remain undefeated on the season. Follow @GUVoiceSports for game day updates and breaking news.
