Chalk opener to W category

November 15, 2014 - The 2014-2015 jumped off for Georgetown today, with the Hoyas beating back a game and plucky St. Francis (NY) opponent 83-62. In Verizon Center, attendance was stated at 7,854.

This contest was never really in question score wise, with the Terriers of St. Francis leading by only one for seven first half seconds, but it didn't feel that way. St. Francis was constantly battling, coming back from deficits as much as 12 in the first half, before heading into intermission down 37-31.

Georgetown created breathing room via a 4-0 lead to start the second period, one which the Hoyas steadily increased their advantage going up as much as 24 with under three minutes remaining.

"I don't think we came out flat in the first half" said Hoya head coach John Thompson III, more or less contrasting his team's first and second half performances. "That's a good team with good players...we came out OK and then they made a run. With good veteran teams that's going to happen all year".

Senior swingman Jabril Trawick opined "They play hard as a team. We knew they weren't really going to go anywhere. But in the second half I thought we came out with the attentiveness we needed to".

"I thought we lost our focus a little bit in the second half" admitted Terrier head coach Glenn Braica, "we didn't start out right in the second half, and I thought we let our offense affect our defense...We got a little discouraged".

Braica lamented his crew's yielding of transition offense; the Hoyas scored 19 fast break points. Compared to last year's team, it's obvious this Hoya group can run with most squads, given their length and depth. Thompson said of that, "if we get defensive boards, we're going to be able to get out and (run) - we have guys that can initiate the break, we have guys that can get out and finish the break".

One player that was dangerous in the open court was freshman swingman L.J. Peak. He paced all scorers with 23 points on 9-9 shooting.

"He's a natural scorer. It comes easy to him" said Thompson, who also appreciated how Peak's teammates found him in scoring position.

Two other Hoyas reached double digit scoring - Trawick with 11 points and senior center Joshua Smith, who logged 10. Georgetown shot 52.5% from the field, yet only sank 1-5 three balls (20%).

G'Town feel short in one area, rebounding, leading Thompson to scold "we did a horrible job of today. They had 22 offensive rebounds. That can't happen. That cannot happen".

Individually senior forward Mikael Hopkins cleaned the glass with 10 rebounds, while junior guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera snagged nine. No one else bested Trawick's five - a quartet of players accounted for two apiece, including senior center Joshua Smith.

Thompson labeled his starting pivot's work overall "unacceptable", adding "He's got to play better" as "Josh Smith can't play and have two offensive rebounds, two rebounds total, both of them were offensive, both of them were I think his misses".

Bolstered by a 22-9 offensive rebounding advantage, the Terriers out-caromed G'Town overall, 45-40. Senior forward Kevin Douglass paced the team with eight, while a trio logged five rebounds each, including junior forward Antonio Jenifer, returning hom to play in the DMV.

Senior guard Brent Jones led St. Francis with 13 points, while leading returning scorer Jalen Cannon dropped 10 points and five rebounds. Jenifer reached double figure scoring with 11 points. The Terriers shot only 32.4% from the field and 31.6% on three pointers.

Up next for St. Francis a home date with Army this Wednesday, a team that Braica indicated is similar to the Hoyas offensively. The Terriers are 0-1 on the season.

G'Town (1-0) welcomes Texas A&M - Corpus Christie Tuesday, a 7p, Verizon Center tip-off.