On Saturday afternoon, the Georgetown Hoyas men’s basketball team extended their winning streak to five with a dominant 99-71 victory over the Samford Bulldogs at Capital One Arena. Senior center Ömer Yurtseven poured in 32 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, both career-highs, while sophomore guard Mac McClung notched 25 points and a career-high seven boards. Redshirt senior guard Brandon Austin and senior guard Josh Sharkey scored 26 and 24 points, respectively, but it was not enough to overcome an explosive Georgetown offense. Georgetown has won each of their last four games by at least a 10-point margin.
Both offenses started out slow, with the Bulldogs (6-8, Southern) leading 9-8 at the under-16 timeout. The Hoyas (9-3, Big East) would wake up, however, erupting for a 12-0 run made up of scores from Yurtseven, McClung, graduate student guard Terrell Allen, junior forward Jamorko Pickett, and junior guard Jahvon Blair. Austin broke the Hoyas’ run with a mid-range jumper, but the Hoyas continued to pour in buckets, with a jumper by Yurtseven and three free throws by Blair after he was fouled on a 3-point attempt. McClung subsequently scored seven points in just over a minute off of two layups and a triple. Yurtseven hit inside thrice in the closing minutes of the half, but a flurry of scores from Austin, Sharkey, and senior forward Jalen Dupree mitigated the damage going into halftime, cutting the Hoyas’ lead to 44-31.
Right out of the break, however, the Blue & Gray put any ideas of a Samford comeback to bed. McClung nailed a triple, followed by an old-school 3-point play, then senior guard Jagan Mosely capped an 18-5 run with a three-ball of his own and a layup. Just before the 12-minute mark, the Georgetown lead ballooned to 27 with a 3-pointer by Blair. The second half would continue similarly, as the Georgetown offense was led by consistent scoring from Yurtseven and McClung. The margin would get to as much as 30 points near the three-minute mark after a mid-range jumper by McClung. Pickett and Blair finished with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
The Hoyas will round off their non-conference schedule next Saturday when they host American (4-6, Patriot League) at 12:00 p.m. at Capital One Arena. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1. The Eagles are coming off a tight 77-74 defeat to Stony Brook this afternoon. Following the matchup with American, Georgetown will begin Big East play on Tuesday, December 31, at Providence (6-6, Big East). For continued coverage of men’s basketball and all Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
