This and that: Appy State

December 14, 2010 - Sunday's 89-60 Georgetown win at Verizon Center over Appalachian State (3-4) was welcome for the Hoyas, re-establishing Georgetown coach John Thompson iii's program in the V column; the Blue and Grey fell to Temple earlier in the week. According to the official tally, 8,765 people were listed as having attended the Appy State tilt. The Hoyas are now 9-1.

One could figuratively say all of G'Town's players also 'attended' a game for the first time, in that reserves contributed 35 points, led by Nate Lubick's 11. All 12 scholarship athlete and walk on Ryan Dougherty (two points) scored.

The DC3 - Austin Freeman, Chris Wright, Jason Clark - per usual figured prominently, not only tallying a collective 35 points, but also defending and and assisting (18 dimes, 12 by Wright).

For Thompson, Clark and Wright's post game comments, click here. That trio touches upon defense (overall and against Appy States' Donald Sims specifically), passing the rock, pushing the ball offensively, scoring spurts and other matters.

Jason Capel, the Appy State's coaches' presser, is here. Sims and Jerimi Booth led his team in scoring (14 points each), a squad that shot 35.7% for the game and 26.1% from deep. Conversely Georgetown sank 60% of its buckets overall, 33.3% from three point land, during this contest. That discrepancy is illustrative of the game and describes its outcome.

Following is a press release documenting the action.

A special shout out goes out to Leon C., the head of Verizon Center's media hospitality unit, who after 26 years retired Sunday. He will be missed.

Four in Double Figures as No. 9 Georgetown Topples Appalachian State, 89-60

WASHINGTON - Senior guard Chris Wright (Bowie, Md./St. John's Catholic [D.C.]) tied a career-high with 12 assists and four players scored in double figures as No. 9 Georgetown connected on 60 percent of its field goals en route to an 89-60 win over Appalachian State in front of 8,765 fans at Verizon Center Sunday afternoon.

Junior guard Jason Clark (Arlington, Va./Bishop O'Connell) scored 15 points, had five steals and three assists to lead the Hoyas, while senior guard Austin Freeman (Mitchellville, Md./DeMatha) added 14 points, three rebounds and three assists. Wright finished six points, 12 assists, three rebounds and three steals. Freshman forward Nate Lubick (Southboro, Mass./St. Marks) scored a career-high 11 points and had seven rebounds, while sophomore guard Hollis Thompson (Los Angeles, Calif./Loyola) chipped in 11 points and four rebounds.

Georgetown led by as many as 17 points during the first half and by nine points, 41-32, at halftime, but out-scored the Mountaineers 7-0 over the first 3:58 of the second half and took a 48-32 lead on one-of-two free throws from senior forward Julian Vaughn (Reston, Va./Oak Hill Academy).

Appalachian State closed to within 12 points, 48-36, on a layup from Marcus Wright, but a 10-2 run in the subsequent three minutes, capped by free throws from Lubick, restored the Georgetown lead to 20. Georgetown led by as much as 23 points, 64-41, with 9:37 left on a layup from Wright, and at 8:18, 68-45, on a layup by Thompson. The Mountaineers closed to 19 for the last time on a layup by Anthony Thomas at 4:56.

The Hoyas took a 27-point lead on a pair of free throws from freshman center Moses Ayegba (Kano, Nigeria/Progressive Christian [Md.]), who made his collegiate debut in the game, and held their biggest lead at 29 points, 89-60, on a layup from senior tri-captain Ryan Dougherty (Kensington, Md./St. Albans).

After a close opening to the game, the Hoyas used a 7-0 run over 1:19 and took a 16-5 lead on a layup form Clark with 13:46 to play in the half. The Mountaineers narrowed the gap to seven points, 18-11, on a tip-in from Petey Hausley.

Georgetown responded with a 12-2 run over 2:34 and took its biggest lead, 30-13, on a three-pointer from Thompson with 7:21 to play in the half. Five different players scored during the run - Clark starting things with a three, followed by a driving layup from freshman guard Markel Starks (Accokeek, Md./Georgetown Prep), free throws from sophomore forward Jerrelle Benimon (Warrenton, Va./Fauquier) and a layup from junior center Henry Sims (Baltimore, Md./Mount St. Joseph).

The maintained the 17-point lead, this time at 37-20, on a jumper from Freeman with 3:21 to play, but the Mountaineers out-scored GU 12-4 over the final minutes and pulled to within nine points, 41-32, on a layup from Sims to close out the scoring for the half.

The Hoyas shot 60.0 percent from the floor (36-of-60), including 72.4 percent in the second half (21-of-29), and hit 33.3 percent of their three-pointers (4-of-12) and 86.7 percent of their free throws (13-of-15). GU held a 35-27 advantage on the glass and handed out a season-high 27 assists, tied for the most by a Georgetown team under Head Coach John Thompson III (James Madison, 2006-07). Led by the defensive effort of Clark, Georgetown held App.State's Donald Sims, who entered the game third in the country in scoring with 27.4 points per game, to only 14 points and it was only the second time in two years the guard had not hit a three-pointer.

The John Thompson III Foundation held a Book Drive and fans were encouraged to bring children's books to the game as the JTIII Foundation holds its fourth annual holiday drive. The book drive benefited Everybody Wins! DC (www.everybodywinsdc.org), a local non-profit organization devoted to promoting children's literacy and a love of learning through shared reading experiences.

Georgetown is back in action on Saturday, Dec. 18, hosting Loyola (Md.) at Verizon Center Tipoff is slated for noon at The Phonebooth. The game will be shown live on MASN and can be heard locally on ESPN 980 AM.