Freshman center Sorber earns double-double
Welcome back! Your Georgetown Hoyas kicked off this 2024-2025 season with a 85-77 victory over the Lehigh Mountain Hawks this evening in front of a sold out, student-filled crowd at historic McDonough Gymnasium.
Micah Peavy shared the lead for Hoyas’ scorers with 20 points and 3 steals, a strong showing for the promising transfer, while fellow newcomer Malik Mack dropped 15 of his own and plus 5 assists. Thomas Sorber was assertive down low and notched a double-double in his college debut, contributing an impressive 20 points and 13 rebounds. Returning standout Jayden Epps added 17 points to go with 3 assists and a steal.
Lehigh already had one game under their belts as they headed down to DC; they received a decisive wallop from Northwestern only two days ago. For all of the recent years that a basketball season has commenced with angst and/or horror, this contest was a welcome reprieve for Hoyas fans (after the first few minutes, at least). Our collective hope was that Coach Cooley would be taking all games seriously and prep the team accordingly, and through one game, they delivered.
Things started off at a brisk pace, with few whistles and surprisingly abundant buckets from both squads. Georgetown saw every starter plus Curtis Williams and Julius Halaifonua enter the scoring column by the U8. On the other side – and stop me if you’ve heard this one before – Lehigh opened up by going 5 for 5 from beyond the arc, with nearly all of their offense coming from Gillus and Higgins Jr.
Peavy tied it up at 33 with just under 6 minutes to play, but the Mountain Hawks immediately answered. Cooley decided to play a lineup with both Sorber and Halaifonua, the two freshmen big men, who complemented each other better than I would have expected and successfully managed to draw contact in the paint.
While far from a terrifying flashback-inducing blowout, the Hoyas were consistently mired a single bucket behind Lehigh. It wasn’t until the 2:00 mark that a driving layup from Peavy put them back on top for the first time since the opening bucket.
The McDonough crowd wanted so badly to erupt when Williams attempted an open three on the next position off the steal from Peavy, but it was not to be. The TCU transfer did it himself on the next trip down the court, driving baseline and banking the vall off the glass and in. Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, and Peavy does it again on the subsequent possession, extending the Georgetown lead to 5 with less than a minute to play in the half. Halaifonua’s big block ensured that the Hoyas’ 10-0 run remained uninterrupted, and the home team went into the break up 44-39.
Play was a bit less crisp coming out of intermission, but luckily for Georgetown that was equally true of their opponent, allowing the Hoyas to carry a 4-point advantage into the U16. Collaborative defense from Williams and Jordan Burks led to a smooth attempt in transition, and Ed Cooley was incensed when Williams got whistled for the offensive foul.
Lehigh’s 7-0 run was cut off by a clean look converted from beyond the arc for Epps. The Mountain Hawks briefly regained a 1-point lead off a three from Whitney-Sidney, but Epps’ triple on the next trip boomeranged the Hoyas back up by two. Georgetown remained ahead 56-54 at the next media break and never opened the door again.
It was Drew Fielder under the basket that created disruption and opened up 2nd, 3rd, and 4th attempts on the next possession until Sorber finally connected, getting the basket and the foul to put the Hoyas up five. Minutes later, the biggest scare of the game came when Sorber slipped out of his shoe and fell oddly while in the process of being fouled. He got up very gingerly, walked it off, made both free throws, then proceeded directly to the bench.
Mack had primarily contributed by facilitating the offense and providing assists earlier in the game, but he racked up five buckets in the waning minutes as teammates struggled to find the bottom of the net. Sorber appeared unhindered by the earlier fall, consistently grabbing rebounds, hitting from the stripe, and establishing an effective paint presence.
Mack put the Hoyas up 79-68 just after the U4, capitalizing on a 4+ minute field goal drought for Lehigh. Jordan Burks got on the board with a putback of an Epps miss, extending the lead to 13 with 1:23 left to play.
Ultimately, Georgetown finished the night with an 85-77 win on the books. There is plenty to learn from and improve upon throughout the season, but also a strong foundation of elements to praise.
Next up, the Hoyas host Fairfield for a 4pm game on Saturday afternoon, 11/9. That one will be at Capital One, and is airing on FS2.
Your Georgetown Hoyas are undefeated. Savor it.