Hoyas again get it together, walk away with win
November 22, 2014 - The 2014-14 Georgetown Hoyas have displayed a pattern this season, starting slow against mid-major competition, after intermission pouring it on. The last time out G'town had a 34-all tie with Texas A&M Corpus Christie, before blowing the game open. Versus St. Francis (NY) the Hoyas were up a mere six points at halftime. The Blue and Grey won those contests, 78-62 and 83-62, respectively.
Advertisement
Today, in front of over eight thousand Verizon Center attendees, Georgetown was up 14 - not necessarily close but within Robert Morris' striking range - to begin the second half. As before head coach John Thompson III's squad then went a tear, this time outscoring their Robert Morris opponent 20-6 over eight minutes. Ultimately the Hoyas won 80-66.
I'll take it" said Thompson afterward, when asked if he was pleased with his team blowing another game open by starting it with a second half run. "Now if we can get fast starts to the first half, fast middles, fast ends, everything will be fine.
When breaking the game open, Georgetown logged three steals and five blocks, indicative of their defense and effort. For the game Thompson's bunch logged eight rejections - senior forward Mikael Hopkins paced the game with four - and six swipes.
"Obviously the size and strength was something that wore on us" remarked Andrew Toole, Robert Morris' head coach. He also lamented giving up some open first half shots and his team settling for them then, as well as not coming "out with the proper energy to start the second half, when they were really able to extend the game".
Thompson revealed attrition is part of the plan, saying "Our personnel is such that we can go deeper than we have in recent memory", aided by versatility and depth; for instance he noted "This year I think we have had guys that are attentive on defense, that can trail, that are good at supporting", where "our long people can guard smaller players as well as bigger players" allowing for switches.
His ultimate assessment: "I think this team has been built to wear people down on both ends of the court".
Toole took one positive in particular - the Colonials outscored G'Town by 13 over the game's last 12 minutes, saying "We did do a good job of fighting back at the end of the game, which we'll take and talk about how to extend that period of play for a much longer time" His team was outpointed by merely two in the second stanza (44-42).
The Hoyas managed 49.1% shooting, despite nailing just 27.3% of their three pointers against Robert Morris' zone defense. Senior center Joshua Smith led the way with a game high 22 points. Junior point guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera and freshman swingman L.J. Peak both dropped 12 points for the Hoyas.
Smith and game high rebounder senior forward Mikael Hopkins were key to G'Town's 47-31 rebound advantage; the former had 10 boards, the later 11. Smith-Rivera contributed six caroms, while Hoya freshman forward Paul White pulled down five.
Junior guard wing Rodney Pryor came off the bench to pace Robert Morris with 16 points, while starting forward Lucky Jones added 13 points and a team high nine caroms. Pryor snatched five rebounds himself for the Colonials, who shot 30.5% from the field and 28% on three pointers.
Both teams continue in Battle 4 Atlantis play, albeit in different situations. Robert Morris (1-2) travels to Chattanooga for a November 26th, Noon matchup. Georgetown (3-0) next trips to the Bahamas, where they face Florida, also on Wednesday. That game's tip-off is set for 930p.
Is the Blue and Grey ready for the big time Battle 4 Atlantis field in the Bahamas, one that includes Florida, UNC, Butler, UAB, UNC, Oklahoma and UCLA along with Georgetown?
"Time will tell. Starting with Florida...We're going to see" he opined. "As much as we could, guys have gotten minutes, guys have been in situations, guys have kind of gotten their feet wet. Now we're going to be thrown into the proverbial fire".