Hoyas return to winning ways, push past App State 83-73 (12-18-18)
By: Ryan Fowler
Headline Graphic Credit: Darrell Owens-LMS Network
WASHINGTON – Georgetown University’s men’s basketball team returned to its winning ways on Tuesday night with an 83-73 win over the visiting Appalachian State University Mountaineers. Freshman James Akinjo (Oakland, Calif. / Salesian College Preparatory) tallied his ninth double-figure scoring effort of the season to lead a quartet of Hoyas in double figures. With the win, GU moved to 8-3 on the season.
“It was a great win for us,” Head Coach Patrick Ewing said. “Everyone did something to help us out. Jessie (Govan) didn’t have his typical great game but everyone stepped up. But he made great plays for us down the stretch and hit some great shots.”
Akinjo poured in 17 on 6-of-12 shooting including 3 of 5 from downtown. Mac McClung (Gate City, Va. / Gate City) added 14 while Greg Malinowski(Chantilly, Va. / Episcopal / William & Mary) chipped in 11, tying his GU best, and Josh LeBlanc (Baton Rouge, La. / Madison Prep Academy) chimed in with 10. LeBlanc led the squad as he pulled down 10 rebounds for his second double-double. Akinjo paced the offense with four assists. For the game, Georgetown shot 43.8 percent on 28-for-64 shooting, including a 45.8 percent clip (11 of 24) from downtown. The Hoyas outrebounded the Mountaineers 46-44.
Georgetown tied up the ball game early on a jumper from McClung, who also drew the foul. Hitting his free throw, the Blue & Gray took the 6-5 lead. McClung followed up with a dunk and a Trey Mourning(Miami, Fla. / Ransom Everglades) jumper put the Hoyas up 10-9. The Hoyas continued, extending the run to six unanswered points and a 14-9 advantage.
However, momentum swung back to Appalachian State (4-7) as the Mountaineers tallied six straight for the one-point edge. Georgetown used a 14-5 run, bolstered by 11 points combined from LeBlanc and Akinjo.
ASU went on an 8-0 run of its own to knot the game, but Akinjo drained a 3-pointer to end the scoring drought as the Blue & Gray went up 31-28. The Mountaineers would not go away and eventually tied the game again at 34. Georgetown pulled away on buckets from senior Kaleb Johnson (South Hill, Va. / The Carlisle School) and sophomore Jahvon Blair (Brampton, Ont. / Athlete Institute Prep) forcing ASU to call a timeout. Both teams traded 3-pointers as Pickett and Grayson Carter (Dallas, Texas / Denton Guyer) matched a pair of Mountaineer triples and the Hoyas took a 44-42 advantage into the break.
The Hoyas found an open McClung under the basket to pull ahead 46-42. Both teams traded baskets but the dish to an open Mourning under the basket gave the Blue & Gray the 51-48 advantage. Senior Jessie Govan (Queens Village, N.Y. / Wings Academy) and Malinowski hit back-to-back 3-pointers as Georgetown pulled ahead 57-50.
The Mountaineers strung together nine unanswered for the two-point advantage but Akinjo’s wide open 3-pointer on the left side put the Hoyas back in command. A LeBlanc dunk followed by another Akinjo bucket forced the ASU timeout and the 64-61 lead. The Blue & Gray staged an 8-4 run with six points credited to Malinowski for the 72-67 lead.
The Mountaineers would not go away, but the final two minutes saw the hot-handed Hoyas pull away as Akinjodished to an open LeBlanc for the dunk before a quick five from a pair of Malinowski free throws and a Govan triple. A pair of McClung free throws provided the 83-73 final score.
App State’s Ronshad Shabazz led the Mountaineers with 20 points. The Hoyas limited ASU to a 37.0 field goal percentage on 27-of-75 shooting.
The Hoyas return to action on Saturday, Dec. 22 as they welcome the University of Arkansas Little Rock Trojans to the Nation’s Capital. Tipoff at Capital One Arena is scheduled for noon and the game will be shown live on FSN with regional coverage provided by MASN2. The game can be heard locally on The Team 980 with Rich Chvotkin in his 45th season calling the game.
[R.F]
