Hoyas catch an Island loss

November 21, 2013 - This afternoon in Puerto Rico Classic opening round action, Georgetown's Hoyas were upended by Northeastern 63-56, before 430 patrons and a national TV audience. It was not pretty.

As with the Hoyas (1-2) loss to Oregon in Korea, John Thompson III's team suffered regrettable outside shooting, making only three of 16 three point attempts for the game (18.5%), and going o-fer (0-8) in the second half. Overall the Hoyas shot a forgettable 36% from the floor, even worse (23.08%) in the second stanza.

G'Town led by thirteen early in the second half, a fact that only underscored their offensive struggles; Northeastern thereafter enjoyed a 15-2 run over a seven minute span. During that stretch, Georgetown had three turnovers and 11 missed shots.

Sophomore guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera led the Hoyas with 14 points, yet shot only 5-14 from the field. His backcourt mate, senior Markel Starks struggled, scoring nine points via two of 12 from the field (1-7 on three pointers), and most troubling adding zero assists. Junior center Joshua Smith finished with nine points and six caroms, yet only played 16 minutes.

Thompson on his team: "This group quickly, quickly, needs to figure out how to compete...I thought we did a poor job of rolling up your sleeves and competing".

The same cannot be said for Northeastern, whose confidence grew, in part fueled by the growing success of the team's 3-2 zone defense. Four players reached double digit scoring - juniors Reggie Spencer and Scott Eatherton with 18 and 12 points respectively, sophomore David Walker's 12 points, plus 10 from T. J. Williams.

Mirroring the Oregon game, G'Town was again outrebounded, this time 36-32. Northeastern's Eatherton led all rebounders with 10, while Spencer logged nine. Joining Smith for the Hoyas was senior forward Nate Lubick with six.

Up next for Northeastern (2-2) who shot 44.7% from the field, yet only connected on 1-5 three balls, is Charlotte in Puerto Rico Classic second round action. Tip-Off is Friday at 230p (EST).

The Blue and Grey suit up at against Kansas State tomorrow. Action starts at Noon (EST).

Discuss this loss, one in which has left members of the Hoya Nation frustrated, on Premium Court. Also there is a brief discussion of what Kansas State presents.