The Georgetown men’s basketball team (1-0) opened its 2011-2012 season in style, as senior center Henry Sims had a career day in an 83-54 rout of Savannah State. While playing only 24 minutes, the Hoyas’ big man poured in a career-high 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting while tying for the team lead with five assists.

Although the Blue and Gray ended up winning by nearly 30 points, the result wasn’t certain until a six-minute, 20-2 run in the second half blew the game open. The Tigers, bolstered by junior guard Deric Rudolph’s three-pointer as time expired in the first half, came out sizzling to start the second period. Five quick points — including another Rudolph trey — cut Georgetown’s lead to three just 20 seconds into the half.

“It was an awful start to the second half,” Head Coach John Thompson III said. “We came out and gave up a wide-open shot and came down [on offense] and had a turnover. … [We] took a quick timeout and had a little conversation. The conversation had nothing to do with X’s and O’s.”

That “little conversation” focused on the intensity, or lack thereof, the Hoyas were displaying on defense, and Thompson III appeared to get his point across. The Blue and Gray elevated their effort level on both ends of the court, stifling the Savannah State offense and scoring efficiently when they had had the ball.

The increased defensive intensity clearly bothered the Tigers’ shooters, who missed their last seven attempts from beyond the arc after hitting six of their first 11. Georgetown also won the second-half forced turnover battle, 9-6, thanks in large part to a full-court press that wreaked havoc with the Tigers’ offense even when it didn’t result in a steal or misplaced pass.

The Hoyas’ size also caused the Tigers serious problems, especially after long-range jumpers stopped falling for the visitors. The Blue and Gray ended the game with 10 blocks, with Sims and freshman Otto Porter leading the way with three apiece. Porter — who missed just one shot in his nine-point debut — also excelled on the glass, snagging a game-high eight rebounds in 25 minutes. Classmate and fellow forward Greg Whittington pulled down only one rebound in his 17 minutes on the court, but led theHoyas with eight points in the first half on 3-of-3 shooting.

“Otto and Greg were very good today,” Thompson III said. “They both ended up with a full stat line.”

Porter, Whittington and Sims weren’t the only members of the frontcourt to impress. Sophomore forward Nate Lubick scored eight points, grabbed seven rebounds and doled out five assists, including a particularly spectacular behind-the-back pass to Thompson during the second half.

Freshman forward Mikael Hopkins and freshman guard Jabril Trawick also saw meaningful minutes for Thompson III, making an impression with their hustle and athleticism.

“They played very, very well,” Thompson III said of the freshmen. “They all can defend, they all can make shots. They give you different things — it’s not about just putting the ball in the basket.”

There’s no question, though, that Sims was the star of the show. Savannah State Head Coach HoraceBroadnax, a member of the Hoyas’ 1984 national championship team, admitted that his team hadn’t planned for stopping Sims on the offensive end of the court, and the senior made the Tigers pay. He easily eclipsed his previous career high of 12 points — done twice, once against Loyola last year and once against American in his sophomore year — and, more importantly, did the dirty work down low and on the boards that allows him to elevate his and his teammates’ play to the next level.

“Henry just needs to make hustle plays. The effort he gave today going after rebounds and a couple blocked shots [was good],” Thompson III said. “Henry doesn’t need to think about scoring, he just needs to let his effort [take over and] the scoring will come. I thought his effort was very good today.”

When Sims subbed out for the final time with 4:11 left, the crowd stood and applauded his effort. When asked about the ovation — the first of its kind that Sims can remember — the senior smiled and would only say that “it felt good.”

If Sims can replicate his performance today in other games, he can be sure that there will be many more ovations coming his way in the future.

The Hoyas return to action on Monday against UNC-Greensboro before heading to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational on Nov. 21. Monday’s tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Verizon Center.