Hoya win not celebrated in holiday fashion

December 21, 2014 - It's the holiday season and people are in a giving mood. Georgetown's men's basketball program might have been caught up in the atmosphere a tad too much, almost blowing a 16 point lead before holding on versus Charlotte yesterday.

The 81-78 win leaves head coach John Thompson III's team 7-3 for the year. He wasn't necessarily the Grinch afterward, but in no way was he Santa Claus in demeanor either.

"You sit here and say you come away with a win. Great" said Thompson, sounding almost sarcastic afterward. "But our defensive execution was not where it needs to be".

His team was in a giving mood from long distance: The 49'ers made six of 11 three pointers in the second half (54.5%), key in outscoring Georgetown by four in that stanza. A pair of guards, freshman Keyshawn Woods and sophomore Braxton Ogbueze led Charlotte in scoring with 16 and 12 points, respectively. Both hit a pair of three balls in the back stanza.

Senior point guard Pierria Henry was Charlotte's trigger man, finishing with a game high seven assists plus eight points. He routinely found open teammates after driving, not unexpected by the Hoyas, as Thompson stressed Henry's diming ability "all week" prior to the game. Senior Georgetown swingman Jabril Trawick lamented allowing Henry to find teammates, the result being "we let them get some wide open shots. We need to be there on those three point shots".

"I'm very proud of our guys for not giving up" said head 49er Alan Major. In his opinion, "the game came down to the 50-50 plays", of which offensive rebounding was key, as "the second opportunities they added up". G'Town bested Charlotte 43-32 on the boards, and a whopping 20-9 on the offensive glass. Major opined his team's zone defense usage contributed to the rebounding disparity. Trawick paced the game with 10 caroms, while also scouring 11 points.

Thompson, neither channeling one of Santa's elves in giddiness or the infamous Heat Miser's evility, almost blandly opined Charlotte's 2-3 zone "slowed us down a little bit", to which Major agreed. G'Town's coach allowed "we have to do a better job of moving the ball" against it" and "I thought we were too stagnant".

The Hoyas managed 39.4% shooting for the game, 37.1% in the second half; not quite reminiscent of Ebenezer Scrooge but surely not ample. Senior center Joshua Smith logged 12 points and six rebounds, while junior guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera also pulled down six rebounds, and scored 13 points.

Freshman Hoya swingman L.J. Peak led all scorers with 18 points, the last two being pressure packed foul shots with eight seconds left. In fact Georgetown's final four points were from the charity stripe, Peak's makes and two from senior swingman Aaron Bowen (11 points, four rebounds), points that came with 25 ticks on the clock and G'Town clinging to a one point lead.

What did Thompson feel about Bowen, owner of a 38.5% free throw mark so far this season, making those clutch attempts?

"I'm glad he made them. Yippie" was the response, delivered in a tone that communicated appreciation, but not reminiscent of someone who received their dream gift.

He will certainly be more euphoric if his Hoyas can clip Indiana, December 27th at Madison Square Garden, a noon tip-off.

Charlotte (6-5) next travels to Georgia Tech. The December 30th game begins at 7p.