Riding momentum from its season-high winning streak, the Georgetown men’s basketball team will travel to Miami to play LaSalle in the Hoophall Miami Invitational on Saturday.
The Hoyas (5-4) won all three games of their home stand to bring their record above .500 for the first time since winning their season opener.
Graduate student guard Rodney Pryor leads the offensive charge with 20.8 points per game. Pryor was selected to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll for the second straight week, averaging 26.5 points in two games in the previous week.
Earlier this week, LaSalle (4-3) experienced a moral victory, bringing No. 1 Villanova (9-0) down to the wire, losing only by 10 points. Throughout the game, the Wildcats were never able to extend the lead to double digits. With 1:04 remaining in the game, the Explorers cut the deficit to four points; however, they were unable to pull off the upset win.
Both teams boast fast-paced offensive sides of the game, with the Explorers averaging 83.1 points per game, while the Hoyas score 78 points per game. In order to outscore LaSalle’s explosive offense, Georgetown must look to its lineup to provide secondary scoring.
After missing two consecutive games with a facial injury, junior guard Isaac Copeland returned to the lineup against Elon and did not record a point in five minutes of play. Copeland has struggled on the offensive end of the floor, averaging only 5.4 points in 19.6 minutes per game.
The Explorers are gifted with two talented options to lead their offensive charge. Junior guard B.J. Johnson leads the team with 17.9 points per game, while senior guard Jordan Price follows close behind with 17.1 points per game. Georgetown must place an emphasis on perimeter defense to guard these two, as Johnson and Price are shooting .472 and .395 from the three-point line, respectively.
Georgetown has been plagued by untimely turnovers this season and must focus on taking care of the ball on either end of the court. The Hoyas average 14.8 turnovers, while the Explorers force 12.4 turnovers per game. Junior guard L.J. Peak leads the Hoyas, averaging 1.6 steals per game.
John Giannini enters his 13th season as the LaSalle Head Coach and currently sits as the all-time winningest coach in the Atlantic 10 conference. Giannini helped turn the program around, leading the team to their first postseason appearance in 20 years in the 2011-12 season.
Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Fl.
