Georgetown broke open a tied game Saturday with a 23-0 run, holding UNC Asheville scoreless for 8 1/2 minutes en route to an easy 87-72 victory. Austin Freeman led the scoring charge by burying seven three-pointers, which tied the all-time Georgetown record for three balls made in a game, and finishing with a season-high 32 points. Julian Vaughn continued a string of productive games, finishing with 16 points and 9 rebounds, as did Hollis Thompson, who netted 11 while grabbing 10 boards. Chris Wright took just three shots, but continued to be the Hoyas’ principal distributor, finishing with nine assists, while Georgetown also had encouraging contributions from big men Nate Lubick (7 points) and Henry Sims (4 points, 4 rebounds, albeit with 5 fouls in just 13 minutes). While Georgetown relaxed a bit too much at times, letting a lead that swelled to 25 dwindle to just 12, the Hoyas turned in a strong performance overall as a final tune-up before a more challenging stretch beginning with Tuesday’s game against Missouri. Here’s what others are saying:
- ESPN.com. Freeman scored 10 points in a row during that stretch by making three 3-pointers — one that was part of a four-point play. ”I just wanted to be aggressive,” said Freeman, averaging 20.2 points this season. “Just come out and take good shots, don’t force anything.”
- Tarik El-Bashir, Washington Post. ”I’m not focused on individual stats,” Vaughn said when asked about being overshadowed by guards Freeman, Chris Wright and Jason Clark. “We have a lot of explosive talent in the back court and we have to exploit it if we can. My main thing, mentally, before every game is going out, trying to rebound, block shots and be a presence.”
- The Hoya. “We, without a doubt, had some lulls in there that we talked about just now in the locker room,” Head Coach John Thompson III said to reporters in the postgame press conference. “We’re a work in progress. There is a lot of room for growth in that locker room.”
- [Freeman] had 20 points by halftime, hitting a dizzying array of three pointers in the process. Chris Wright played a nice and composed game, finishing with 8 assists and 3 points. Georgetown relied more on the three pointer today than they had in their previous two games, making 13 of 27 attempts.
- Hoya Prospectus. In brief: * Austin Freeman is good *turnovers are going to bite the Hoyas sooner or later.
Georgetown returns to action Tuesday against Missouri in Kansas City. A preview of that game follows Monday.
Austin Freeman is good