Early lead propels GU

This afternoon before 5,258 fans in Verizon Center, Georgetown raced to a 19-2 lead over Howard in the game’s initial four and a half minutes, eventually holding off the Bison for an 85-72 win. That opening run proved decisive to one of the coaches.

“I thought this game was defined by the first four minutes, first five minutes of the game” said Howard head coach Kevin Nickleberry. “They got up big on us”.

In estimation G’Town’s full court pressure played a key role in the Bison “digging ourselves a hole” leading to “the rest of the game we were fighting uphill”. Apparently based on recent G’Town performances, HU “didn’t expect them to press that much”, shared Nickelberry.

His Georgetown counterpart somewhat disagreed with any conclusion the game was decided early, as John Thompson III mused “No, because they fought back”.

That statement has validity: Howard (0-5) came back to down nine with 3:43 remaining in the first half, took a 10 point deficit into intermission, while twice charging to being behind only eight points during the contest's last seven minutes and 26 seconds. This after trailing by a high of 16 during the second period.

James Miller, a junior swingman was crucial in bringing the Bison within striking range. Along the way to 30 game high points plus five rebounds, he routinely attacked the basket, earning buckets and foul shot attempts. Of his work, Miller shared a play "called ‘Flat’, with a five man that can’t guard" freed him, while "That’s pretty much how I play”. He also got out on the fast break.

Following him in scoring was senior forward Solomon Mangham (13 points), also pacing all competitors with eight rebounds. Thompson acknowledged his impact, with all those points coming in the last 20 minutes.

Making Howard’s performance more impressive was the absent of James “J-Byrd” Daniel, the leading scorer in America last season. Nickleberry not only identified the points Daniel brings – “It’s hard to replace the (MEAC) player of the year. It’s hard to replace 27 points…. The runs (Rodney) Pryor is able to give them, we rely on him to give us those runs” - but also lamented Daniel’s role in a matchup zone the team can deploy, since “he makes all the calls”.

Charity stripe attempts were a sore point with Nickleberry, as his team missed four in each half. Per him, not having Daniel impacted this greatly, and today an issue of the wrong players getting to the free throw line existed. Howard logged 69.2% on free throws, while G’Town sank 75% there.

The Hoyas (3-4) got 26 points and a team tying six rebounds from graduate forward Rodney Pryor, including 17 in the second half. His nine points in the second half’s first three minutes and forty five seconds or so – including a rare four-point play – helped push G’town’s advantage to it's aforementioned largest of the stanza.

Teammate and junior guard Tre Campbell scored 12 decisive points, all in the first half and from three point land. His overall trio of assists and pair of swipes were as critical, in 30 minutes of play.

Akoy Agau was aggressive from the start, finishing with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists. He also did much of his work in the initial stanza.

On Agau, a junior forward, Thompson indicated “He gives us energy. He plays hard. You look at that first half and I believe he had two charges taken…And so you know Akoy is going to compete. You look at a couple of plays guys were coming in there to dunk and he challenged them at the rim. A whole lot of guys wouldn’t even attempt to because they are scared they may get dunked on…He brings his lunch pail. He brings an honest effort, everyday”.

When discussing starting the last two games after not playing for around a pair of years, Agau smiled, called it "definitely a blessing to be out there" and revealed "I’m still a little anxious, I’m still trying to get comfortable to the game; when you don’t play for two years, the rules change and everything, so I have to get acclimated to all that. With every game, I think I’m starting to get more and more comfortable”.

Georgetown shot considerably better than the Bison – 46.4% to 33.3% from three point land and 49.1% to 43.1% overall - yet only secured one more rebound (33-32) and committed one less giveaway (17-18). Thompson’s bunch also enjoyed a scant 26-24 free throw attempt advantage.

Up next for the Blue and Grey? Another MEAC foe, Coppin State. Tip-off is 6:30p, Wednesday, at Verizon Center.

The Bison are off until December 3rd, when they host American, a 4p start.