The Georgetown men’s basketball team rebounded nicely from Wednesday’s devastating overtime loss to Syracuse with a 71-61 win at the Verizon Center over Big East rival St. Johns. The youthful and unranked Red Storm gave the No. 11 Hoyas quite a scare though, playing a tight first half before narrowing the lead to as little as two points in the second half. Nevertheless, the heavily favored Hoyas pulled away in the final five minutes thanks to a career day defensively from sophomore Nate Lubick and some balanced scoring from the Hoyas’ offense.

Unlikely Leaders

The Hoyas needed a balanced attack to scrape past the Red Storm, as the usual suspects struggled to leave their mark on the game. With Henry Sims restricted to just 20 minutes on the court due to foul trouble and Jason Clark shooting a dismal 4-13 on the afternoon, the Hoyas were fueled by the surprisingly assertive and confident play of Greg Whittington, who’s smooth jumper spurred him to a team-high 12 points. Clark, Otto Porter, Hollis Thompson and Markel Starks all scored in double figures to give the Hoyas just enough firepower. Meanwhile, Nate Lubick gobbled up eight boards, dished out five assists and added a career-high 4 blocks on the defensive end, to energize the Hoyas as the Red Storm tried to battle back into the game.

Two-Man Team

While the promising play of Lubick and Whittington ignited the Hoyas on both ends of the floor, the Red Storm lingered within striking distance of the Hoyas thanks to their own dynamic duo of freshmen De’Angelo Harrison and Moe Harkless. Harkless was everywhere for the Johnnies, using his rare combination of length and quickness to slice his way through the lauded Hoyas’ defense for 20 points. Harrison added a game-high 24 points, including five three pointers which threatened to shift momentum away from the Hoyas. However, St. Johns’ six-man rotation exhausted the fabulous freshmen and subsequently, their shooting tailed off as the game went on. With just 17 points contributed by the rest of the team, the Red Storm had little chance of a comeback against the Hoyas’ balance and depth.

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The Hoyas returned to the Verizon Center Wednesday night badly needing a bounce-back after falling to Big East cellar-dwellers Pittsburgh last week. However, the Hoyas’ task was never going to be easy as they welcomed defending national champions Connecticut, a squad desperate for a rebound performance of their own, having dropped from the top 25 for the first time this season after a difficult stretch of games. Yet, it was the Hoyas who looked the hungrier team on the night, hounding UConn on defense to eventually come away with a convincing 58-44 victory.

Hollis and Henry leading the way

While the Huskies started off hot, opening up a 9-3 lead in the first three minutes, the Hoyas surged to a ten-point lead at halftime thanks to the sweet shooting of Hollis Thompson. He kept his scoring touch in the second half, finishing with a team-high 18 points and 9 rebounds. Thompson and center Henry Sims, who finished with 13 points, including a thunderous dunk over UConn star Jeremy Lamb, willed the team to victory in the second half, coming up with timely buckets to keep the lead close to double-figures throughout. Sims’ presence on the inside was invaluable, providing the Hoyas with a vital interior presence to combat the imposing figure of the Huskies’ stud freshman center Andre Drummond.

Dealing with Drummond

Drummond had a massive game for the Huskies, altering shots, collecting monstrous rebounds and finishing around the rim, something the rest of his team failed to do consistently. He was the main catalyst for the Huskies early run in the first half, with 8 points on 4-4 shooting in the first four minutes. Finishing tied for a game-high 18 points while shooting 9-12 from the field, Drummond was the only Husky to make at least half of his shots on a night his teammates will be eager to forget. Henry Sims stepped up to mitigate Drummond’s impact in the second half and while the future NBA lottery pick still influenced the game, he was unable to pull his team back from the double-digit halftime deficit.

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The Hoyas defeated the IUPUI Jaguars 81-58 tonight in the Verizon Center, despite having trailed for most of the first half. Up just one at halftime, the Hoyas relied on a 21 point performance from Hollis Thompson, as well as strong supporting efforts from Markel Starks and Henry Sims to avoid the upset. Alex Young led the way for the Jaguars with 16 points, all coming in the first half. Yet, the Hoyas ultimately proved their quality, outscoring IUPUI 49-27 in the second half to give them their third straight win since the tough loss to Kansas in Maui.

Slow start

The Hoyas looked sluggish in the early going, falling behind to some sweet shooting from the Jaguars. Swingman Alex Young, the Summit League Preseason Player of the Year, made his first three shots and had the Hoyas back peddling with his versatile offensive game. Nate Lubick and Henry Sims struggled to control the glass, as the Hoyas outrebounded the Jaguars by just 20 to 16, despite IUPUI not starting a player over 6’7”. The offense was also out of sync, as the Hoyas shot just 22.2% from three and 66.7% from the foul line, demonstrating their early struggles.

Caging the Jaguar

Despite his scintillating first half, Alex Young was held scoreless after the break, finishing a dismal 1 of 12 from the field after his perfect start. Though John Thompson III didn’t make any formal changes to his defense during halftime, there was clearly an emphasis from the players to take away IUPUI’s top scoring threat. Coming into the game as the top career scorer in the nation, Young was blanketed by the outstanding second half effort from the Hoyas defense, baiting him into bad shots, if he ever got the ball. The Jaguars second leading scorer, point guard Stephen Thomas, also came apart in the second half. Though he seemed to enter the lane at will against a haphazard Hoya defense, he was just 2 of 10 from the field and cost the Jaguars valuable points in the paint with his poor finishing.

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When the Hoyas did battle with Memphis last year, Georgetown dominated the Tigers, coming away with a decisive victory. In the fifth-place game at the Maui Invitational tonight, the Hoyas faced a closer battle, outlasting the No. 8 Tigers 91-88 in Memphis’ second overtime thriller in as many days.

While much of the focus so far this season has been on the development of the Hoya freshmen, it was the upperclassmen that willed the Blue and Gray to their first marquee victory of the year. Seniors Jason Clark and Henry Sims combined for fifty points and supplied the Hoyas with big shots when they were needed the most.

As Memphis’ run-and-gun offense turned the first half into more of a track meet than a basketball game, Clark’s 17 points before the break helped the Hoyas snag a five point lead by halftime. They kept pace with the Tigers’ swift and streaky scorers, thanks in part to a 19-2 Georgetown-run in the early going.

Memphis looked more under control in the second half, quickly eliminating the Hoyas’ advantage. Tiger sophomores Will Barton and Joe Jackson seemed unguardable at times, as the Tigers began to look more like the top-ten team people expected. Despite his slow start, Jackson’s agility allowed him to get into the paint at will in the second half, as he finished with 20 points on the night.

Yet, even as Memphis’ caliber really began to shine, the Hoyas kept a foothold on the contest through Sims, who had, quite simply, his best game as a college basketball player. The one-time recruiting bust exploded Wednesday night, man-handling the four-guard Memphis lineup, unveiling an array of smooth post moves, and even stepping out to drain the occasional jumper. With 25 points on 10-17 shooting, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, Sims has already backed up his pre-season sentiment that he came into his senior year ready to play a major role for the Hoyas.

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The Georgetown University Department of Athletics has announced its next class of honorees for the Athletic Hall of Fame, enshrining seven new Hoyas for their contributions to the school. Yet, one individual will literally overshadow the rest of the class: former men’s basketball superstar Dikembe Mutombo.

The 7’2” Congolese center is among the Hoyas’ most accomplished athletes, both at the collegiate level and professionally. In just three seasons on the Hilltop (1988-1991), Mutombo cemented his legacy as Georgetown’s greatest defensive player ever, holding the distinction as the all-time blocks leader at Big Man U, in addition to an All-America selection in his senior season.

Most remarkable about Mutombo’s success, however, is that he never intended to play basketball before arriving to campus. In fact, he was such an unknown quantity one recruiting newsletter misreported that he was a 5’10” guard. He planned to become a doctor, attending Georgetown on a USAID scholarship. Speaking hardly any English before entering the United States, he enrolled in the Georgetown ESL program, where he went on to be nationally recognized for his academic achievements in language, graduating with a degree in linguistics and diplomacy.

Despite his aptitude for social sciences, his basketball talents were undeniable, leading him to enter the 1991 NBA Draft. Selected fourth overall by the Denver Nuggets, he went on to make seven all-star appearances during his illustrious career, retiring second on the NBA’s all-time list in blocks. His trademark finger-wag after blocking a shot was one of the most celebrated bits of showmanship during his eighteen years in the league.

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Georgetown football capped off Homecoming weekend with a thrilling 17-7 win against the defending Patriot League champion Holy Cross, its first against the Crusaders since 1999.

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