Second half is good for Hoyas

January 10, 2016 - In their 74-63 win over DePaul yesterday, Georgetown powered to victory by outscoring visiting DePaul significantly in the second half. A stated 8,435 observers witnessed the effort at Verizon Center.

"Particularly in the second half, we wanted to make a conscious effort to go the rim, go to the rim" said G'Town's head coach, John Thompson III, specifically responding to a question regarding his team's 32 free throw attempts (eight in the first half), but also standing as an answer that paints a picture regarding his team's last period effectiveness. For the record Georgetown which shot 38.5% for the game (35.5% on three balls), sank 44% of their second stanza shots.

His DePaul counterpart, Dave Leitao, noted getting the ball inside generally is "part of their offense", G'Town deploys, while "I thought they did a really good job today - they make 11 threes, a lot of them as a result of pick and roll penetration or post touches and kick outs, and we weren't' real good on our rotations".

The veteran-rookie combination of senior guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera and freshman center Jessie Govan was particularly effective; Smith-Rivera contributed a game high 17 points and eight assists, never turning the ball over. Govan, a 6'10", 260 pound performer who scored 12 points, hit a three pointer, many of his points still came inside the paint, like his pick and roll produced layup with 17:05 to play in the game.

That sequence gave the Hoyas a 38-35 lead. Georgetown (10-6 overall, 3-1 in the BIG EAST), led the rest of the way, leading by as much as 13 points.

The Hoyas dropped 46 points in the second half, yet only 28 were produced in first stanza play - Thompson's crew trailed 30-28 at intermission. DePaul, who finished at 35.7% from the field and 30% beyond the arc, shot worse in the first half (30.8%, 25%, respectively).

What happened during those first 20 minutes?

"I think we did a good job defensively on them in the half court set. When they did score it was in transition, which is something we've harped on all year" accounted Smith-Rivera of why the game's first 20 minutes were rather moribund offensively. "For us, we just missed some shots that we usually make. Not to take anything from them, they played defense really well, but shot that we usually make just weren't going down".

Leitao answered "I don't know 100%" why his team struggled greatly to score in the first stanza, though "I kept saying to the guys during our dead balls, we notice that the game is there for the taking, and we have to go out there and be the more aggressive team. And I thought neither team put it's best foot forward in the first half".

Govan, who led the game with four blocks, in his first G'Town press conference was happy with his team's defensive performance: "I think we did pretty good. We held them to 36% percent shooting. I think we were really focused on our coverages with their screens and all that. I think we did well today".

Sophomore guard Billy Garrett paced the Blue Demons with 16 points. L.J. Peak, a G'Town sophomore guard, equaled Smith-Rivera's 17 points, contributing 11 in the first half, good for 39.2% of the team's first 20 minute output.

DePaul (6-10, 0-4) travels to Xavier for a Tuesday, for a 630p ET start.

The Hoyas also hit the road, tipping off in NYC, where St. John's waits on Wednesday. Tip-off is 630p.