Georgetown comes to the Coliseum today 13-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big East. The Hoyas lone loss was to Kansas in the Maui Classic. Georgetown has won at Louisville and it has beaten Providence and Marquette at home. In the Marquette game Wednesday, the Hoyas rallied from 17 points down in the final 10:30 minutes of the game. Hollis Thompson hit a three with :24 to go for the game winning points.
Senior guard Jason Clark is the leading scorer on the team at 16.5 points per game. The 6-8 Thompson is next at 13.9 points per game. The key play may be, however, 6-10 center Henry Simms. The offense runs through Sims at the elbow as he leads this team with 53 assists from that center position. Sims also leads the team with 24 blocks and with 23 offensive rebounds to show how versitile he is.
The Mountaineers are coming off one of their best offensive games of the season as they scored 51 points in the first half at Rutgers. That was one game after they scored a total of 48 points in a loss at Seton Hall. The Mountaineers had five players score in double figures. Truck Bryant scored 29 points. He has scored well in two of the three Big East games as he netted 34 in the home win over Villanova. Kevin Jones battled through a sprained ankle to get another double/double (14/14.)
The Mountaineers have played very well recently against Georgetown. They won here 81-68 two years ago and then beat Georgetown for the Big East title in New York 60-58. Last year, WVU beat the 13th ranked Hoyas 65-59 in D.C.
–First media timeout: Georgetown hit its first shot from the field and then missed six in a row. The Mountaineers have the early rebounding advantage. Jason Clark–Georgetown’s leading scorer–picked up his second foul just 7:00 in.
–The Mountaineers have scored nine points in a row as they attack Georgetown’s 2/3 zone by going right to Deniz Kilicli.
–Kevin Jones had blood on both the front and back of his jersey. He has changed from #5 to #42 for the rest of the game.
–Halftime stats: The Mountaineers are shooting it at 42% as the threes are not falling today (1-6.) But the Mountaineers have the lead despite Truck shooting 2-8 from the field and Kilicli getting just two points. Kilicli played just eight minutes because of foul trouble. There is a very good chance WVU will get a big offensive boost from one or both of those individuals. The Mountaineers turned the ball over eight times in the first half including at least three against the Georgetown press.
–Kevin Jones and Hollis Thompson have carried their respective offenses. Jones has 15 in the first half. Thompson has 13 points and no other Hoyas player has more than four.
–The Mountaineers got a couple of dunks on rebounds to chase Georgetown out of its zone. The Mountaineers. At the other end, Georgetown didn’t run a play for a basket with a backdoor cut the entire first half. The Hoyas got two in the first six minutes of the second half. A third play would have worked for a layup for Jason Clark if not for a slightly deflected ball.
–Tough third foul on Kilicli with 11:42 to go. He has shown great life at both ends the court in the second half. Kilicli out for Dominique Rutledge as play resumes.
–WVU is on an 11-4 run since the game was tied at 33 at the 16:42 mark. Kilicli got that run going with a rebound dunk. Freshman keaton Miles then had one :55 later.
–Kevin Jones with 20/10. His 11th double/double in 15 games this year and the 23rd of his career.
–Kilicli back in with 10:14 to go as Nate Lubick of Georgetown picks up his fourth. Rutledge has done a nice job in the minutes he has played today with Kilicli on the bench. He has one field goal, a rebound and he drew a charge here in the second half.
–The Mountaineers are finally getting some separation as they have scored five in a row here to go up by eight. Freshman Aaron has hit a three here in the second half to push the lead. Dating back to the Big East opener vs. Villanova, Brown has hit five of his last seven three point shot attempts.
–A Truck Bryant three following a missed 1-1 by Georgetown to put the Mountaineers up by 11 may have been the dagger. The Hoyas did get an easy basket at the other end as the Mountaineers let an easy rebound get away which led to a Hoyas basket. Still a nine point lead with just over 6:00 to play.
–Truck has another 20+ point game. Through four Big East games so far, He leds in scoring in conference games. Truck scored 34 vs. Villanova and 29 vs. Rutgers. He had 11 in the Seton Hall game and is averaging over 23 points per game in the league.
–First Big East Conference loss for Georgetown leaving the league with two unbeaten teams in conference play. 3-0 Syracuse plays later today at home vs. Marquette. 2-0 Cincinnati has just tipped it off at home vs. St. John’s. The Mountaineers are right in the mix at 2-1 and they have a quick turn around with travel tomorrow and a game at #8 ranked UConn Monday.
–Don’t forget to tune into the Point After coming up. Reaction for the WVU locker room and from Georgetown coach John Thompson III.