Men’s Basketball Crushes Howard by 35 to Finish Non-Conference Play

To wrap up their non-conference schedule, the Georgetown men’s basketball team (10-3, Big East) dominated Howard (6-8, MEAC) at Capital One Arena to the tune of a 102-67 final score. The Hoya bigs stepped up, as senior center Jessie Govan and freshman forward Josh LeBlanc each recorded double-doubles. For the Bison, sophomore guard RJ Cole poured in 28 points with six assists. With Georgetown defeating Little Rock (5-8, Sun Belt) 102-94 in overtime last Saturday, this was the first time since the 1966-67 season that the Hoyas eclipsed triple-digits in consecutive games.

With usual starter, freshman guard Mac McClung, sidelined, both senior guard Greg Malinowski and sophomore guard Jamorko Pickett were slotted into the starting lineup. While neither reached double-digit scoring numbers, each grabbed eight rebounds to set new season highs. Sharpshooting sophomore guard Jahvon Blair also stepped up, scoring 15 points on two 3-pointers and a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.

10 minutes into the first half, the Hoyas had jumped out to a 19-10 lead. LeBlanc and Govan each tallied four early points, and Malinowski added a 3-pointer. The Hoyas continued with a steady dose of scoring and consistent defense for the rest of the half. LeBlanc added eight more points, to finish the half with a team-high of 12. Cole also had 12 points at the half, but only three of his teammates had made it onto the scoresheet, and only junior guard Charles Williams had more than five. The Hoyas held a commanding 40-26 lead at the intermission.

In the second half, the game saw more of the same. Govan started things off with nine points in the first three minutes, including a three. LeBlanc added seven of his own, including a couple big dunks, over the next three minutes. The Hoyas’ dominance extended through the rest of regulation, and the Blue & Gray finished on top by a 35-point margin, by far their biggest win of the season.

Govan finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while LeBlanc notched a career-high 22 points with 11 boards. Saturday marked Govan and LeBlanc’s fourth and third double-doubles of the season, respectively. One key to Georgetown’s success was the rebounding battle, which the Hoyas won 54-37. In addition, Georgetown grabbed 12 offensive boards and scored 19 second-chance points to Howard’s nine.

Georgetown will travel to Indianapolis on Wednesday to open up their Big East schedule against Butler (9-4, Big East). The Bulldogs played on Saturday as well, losing to Florida (8-4, SEC), 77-43. Howard will begin MEAC play at home against Florida A&M (2-13, MEAC). Follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter for more updates and coverage of all winter sports at Georgetown.