The Georgetown Hoyas (2-0, Big East) never trailed in defeating the visiting Central Arkansas Bears (1-2, SLC) 89-78 at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. on Saturday, November 9. It was in stark contrast to their Wednesday opener against Mount St. Mary’s, when the Hoyas had to claw their way back from a 19 point deficit. The Bears kept it close, trailing by only three with 3:33 left in the first half, before a late spurt by the Hoyas increased their lead to 54-42 before the break. The game was the opening round of the 2K Empire Classic.
Seven foot big men led the scoring for each team – transfer student Omer Yurtseven scored 17 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the Hoyas, while sophmore center Hayden Koval totaled 21 points for the Bears, making 4 of 5 from the three point circle. Jagan Mosely had 13 points shooting a perfect 4-4 from the field and 3-3 from the free throw line; and Jamorko Pickett added 10 points for Georgetown. Pickett and freshman center Qudus Wahab led the team with 7 rebounds, and James Akinjo registered a team-high seven assists.
The game was fast paced, resembling a track meet at times. Georgetown as a team shot 50 percent (33-66) from the field and outrebounded the Bears 55-31. Still, head coach Patrick Ewing found a lot of room for improvement. The Hoyas turned the ball over 19 times, and the starting backcourt duo of Mac McClung and James Akinjo shot a combined 3 for 18 from the field. “We still have a long way to go from now to where we want to be at the end of the year, But we just want to get better and better every time we step on the floor.” said Ewing.
The Hoyas return to Capital One Arena for their next game at 6:30 on Thursday, Nov. 14 against Penn State. The game will be televised on FS1. Fans can also listen in at WTEM (980 kHz, “The Team 980”).
You can view Jeff Malet’s photos from courtside by clicking on the photo icons below.