GOT IT DONE: Georgetown Pulls Away From Saint Francis (PA) to Win 82-65

Peavy and Epps each score 20+ points

Your Georgetown Hoyas got it done, extinguishing the Saint Francis (PA) Red Flash by a score of 82-65 this afternoon in DC. Micah Peavy led the team with 24 points and six steals, Jayden Epps kept pace with him by adding 23 points, and Malick Mack had 11 points to go alongside 4 assists and 3 steals.

The name of the game with a non-conference slate like that which the Hoyas have set for this autumn is simple: you MUST win the games you are supposed to win. An unspoken follow-on to this approach is that by scheduling less daunting opponents, by BIG EAST play the young team should be able to coalesce into a unit that is better equipped to handle their conference foes. The first part is happening. We shall see soon enough how that second part plays out.

Similar to the season opener against Lehigh, the entirety of the Hoyas’ starting lineup entered the scoring column early. Peavy established himself as the threat of the day with a jumper and a pair of threes, including one assisted by Drew Fielder; Mack, Epps, and Thomas Sorber all converted their early attempts.

Georgetown went into the U12 with a double-digit advantage, up 23-12, a cushion which mitigated the impact of a painful dry spell wherein they allowed a 10-0 run by the Red Flash. During this stretch both Jordan Burks and Sorber had clean looks bounce awry after hitting the rim, and there was one possession where the team had at least four second-chance attempts yet came up empty. Sloppy, dangerous passing and lack of effective communication were shown in sharp relief.

Fielder collected an Epps miss and passed it off to Peavy, who got the bucket and sent things to the under-4 media break, which should have been a time for Georgetown to reset and regroup. The Hoyas led 33-29 at this juncture, but then gave up 7 straight points to St. Francis, ceding both the mental and mathematical advantage to the visiting squad.

As is tradition, Georgetown was on the business end of a career-highlight performance from an opposing player. Rosenberger had been averaging 11 ppg thus far in the season; naturally during today’s contest he added 13 points (and a pair of steals) during a single 6.5 minute stretch in the opening half, ultimately tallying 20 on the day.

The Hoyas did claw the lead back off a four-point play from Epps; that single made foul shot was the entire margin at halftime, 37-36. Georgetown’s 15-point lead was a distant memory by this point, as the Red Flash had doubled them up during the latter portion of the first half. Yikes.

Coming out of intermission, Peavy found Sorber in the paint early, and the big man converted. Mack did the same one possession later, and Sorber finished it again. Follow that up with Mack to Epps for a triple and it was briefly enough to make you think there had been a halftime body-swap. Less than 80 seconds into the period, the Hoyas were up 44-36.

There was some impressive defense from the freshman center as well, as he was instrumental in forcing a shot clock violation on the next SFU possession. Fielder and Rosenberger notched offsetting threes; Cranford and Peavy did the same, then Parker and Peavy traded buckets. Georgetown held a 56-47 advantage with 13:47 remaining, though only in retrospect can we say that the quicker pace was in the home team’s favor.

Sorber collided with (and possibly took an inadvertent kick to the head from) one of the St. Francis players while fighting for a defensive rebound, went down to the floor hdling his head and neck, then was assisted back to the locker room. The Hoyas were unsettled after this, and the Red Flash capitalized by executing a 10-0 run to pull ahead by one. Epps, once again, had the answer, hitting a three make it 59-57 Hoyas with 8:10 to play.

When Sorber checked back in after the U8, it was a huge relief. He grabbed the rebound and drew a foul, making both shots and confirming how Georgetown is going to rely on his presence in the paint this year. (If only they would get him the ball so he could attempt more shots. Four FG attempts on the day is nowhere near sufficient.)

St. Francis’ leading rebounder, Pinedo, was helped to the locker room with just over 4 minutes remaining, suffering from what appeared to be a lower shin/ankle injury. Seconds later, the Red Flash lost a second starter as Kelly fouled out. The Hoyas should not have needed that kind of opening to seal this win, but it helped.

A lone jumper from Mack was the only field goal for nearly 5 minutes of gameplay, until Burks layed it in off the assist from Peavy. This 15-1 run for the Hoyas was punctuated by an alley-oop, once again from Peavy to Burks, made possible my Epps getting a steal (…wrestling and ripping the ball away…) from Parker. They were ahead 68-58 with 3:34 left on the clock.

Georgetown showed off a bit in the final minutes, with a fancy behind-the-back pass by Burks (or Sorber?), a circus layup from Mack, and a final dunk from Burks.

Transition scoring, cleaner passing & communication, feeding Sorber, three-point defensive rotation lapses — those all make the shortlist of things that require immediate attention ahead of the Hoyas’ BIG EAST matchups. The final margin did not reflect the game that we witnessed, but let us erase those memories and take the 17-point win.

Next up, it’s a quick turnaround, as Georgetown hosts Wagner only three days from now. That game is set for 7pm on Tuesday (11/26) and will air on FS1.

Hoya Saxa, everybody.