DSR, Peak, take it home

December 22, 2015 - By just over four and a half minutes in the first half, Georgetown earned a 14 point lead, notched after sophomore forward Isaac Copeland's second free throw make. It looked like the Hoyas' mid-major struggles would be a thing of the past; for the first time in three games, G'Town would not fall to a non-power conference team.

Georgetown did prevail on the road 62-59 over UNC Charlotte, but it wouldn't be easy. A pair of 49'ers saw to that.

Immediately after Copeland's (12 points, eight rebounds) charity stripe make, Charlotte went on a 12-2, half closing run, fueled by junior guard Braxton Ogbueze and senior center Joseph Uchebo. The former scored seven points (including a pair of three pointers), while Uchebo logged six points to close the half, including hitting four of five free throws.

Uchebo finished with 12 points and a game high tying 10 caroms. Ogbueze paced the contest with 18 points, accounting for all four is his team's first half three-ball makes, also pulling down six boards.

Another Ogbueze three pointer gave Charlotte its first lead of the second half just after the first TV timeout, a shot answered by junior Hoya forward Reggie Cameron's three ball. The next six G'Town points came from the foul line, where Cameron (10 points) and sophomore guard L.J. Peak, who collectively went 6-6 during that stretch, after which freshman forward Marcus Derrickson ( 10 ) hit a three pointer with 7:37 in regulation. That shot gave Georgetown a slight 52-49 lead.

Peak, who notched a solid if unremarkable 10 points, two rebound stat line on first blush was key for the Hoyas; he went 7-8 from the charity stripe, 5-6 in the crucial second half, by going hard to the rim versus Charlotte's man to man and 2-3 zone defensive schemes. The only field goal make of his 1-9 from the field night was a timely three pointer with 2:16 on the clock.

D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera followed Peak's theatrics with those of his own, converting a contorted, and-one layup around forty five seconds later. A senior guard, Smith-Rivera finished with 11 points for Georgetown (7-5), who shot 34% from the field, 38.1% on three pointers, while sinking an impressive 18-22 from the free throw line. Senior center Bradley Hayes pulled down 10 boards.

Smith's shot regained Georgetown the lead at 56-54. One free throw from Derrickson plus Cameron's two, along with three missed Charlotte shots and a 49'er turnover sealed the outcome.

Freshman Guard Jon Davis joined Ogbueze and Uchebo in double figure scoring, tallying 12 points. Charlotte as a unit mustered shooting numbers of 37.5% overall and 41.2% on three pointers, the latter including seven makes, five produced by Ogbueze. Their 10-20 number from the charity stripe hurt the 49'ers cause, greatly.

Charlotte (2-9) is off until 12.29, when they welcome The Citadel at 7p EST, their last out of conference game before Conference USA play begins.

G'Town next travels to DePaul 12.30, for a 9p EST, tip-off, their first BIG EAST Conference game of the 2015-16 season.