Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

GU Lights Up Scoreboard in Rout of Radford

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Freshman Omar Wattad had a wide-open shot at the top of the arc, and with chants of “Omar! Omar!” still ringing in his ears, he took it. The three-pointer swished through the net, the scoreboard lit up to 100-47 and the crowd went wild. Wattad’s only points of the game brought the Hoyas’ bench to their feet as they cheered right along with the 2,634 fans crowded into McDonough Gymnasium Saturday night. The small on-campus arena was loud and proud as No. 5 Georgetown (8-0) plowed over unranked Radford (4-7), 110-51, in the Hoyas’ first triple-digit showing under Head Coach John Thompson III. Georgetown has not scored 110 points since posting 111 in a quadruple-overtime loss to Notre Dame in 2002. But Thompson and his players did not seem phased after the game. “We were excited to win,” senior forward Patrick Ewing Jr. said of the impressive point tally. “Even if the score is 2-0.” In the midst of finals week on the Hilltop, Ewing and his teammates took a break to tear through the Highlanders, as the Hoyas shot a season-best 65 percent from the field, 50 percent from beyond the arc and 67.7 percent at the free-throw line. “We played well today,” Thompson said, mentioning that he thought his team did an especially good job of making the extra pass and sharing the ball, even as the tally kept climbing. “A lot of times when you get rolling, people think `Me, me me.'” Georgetown has typically started slow in their games this year – enduring close-calls from teams like Ball State and Fairfield – but that was not the case against Radford as the Hoyas burst out of the gates and were up 18-3 after 4:09 of play. Freshman guard Austin Freeman went on to post a game-high 21 points, alongside four other teammates who scored in the double digits. Senior star Roy Hibbert was not among the top scorers. The Hoyas’ center did not attempt a field goal until the second half and finished up with eight points and seven rebounds. But according to Thompson, statistics aren’t everything, and Hibbert’s presence aided the Hoyas in many ways on the court, especially on the defensive end. “I thought tonight was one of his better games,” Thompson said. “The way he pursued the ball, the way he worked at the defensive end. . I thought Roy was absolutely terrific today.” Georgetown’s victory was not without some conflict, however. As the Hoyas’ margin rose, so did the tension on the court in what was an unusually physical game for both teams. Two double technical fouls were assessed throughout the game, against Ewing and Radford sophomore forward Phillip Martin, and later to senior forward Tyler Crawford and freshman forward Nick McFarlin. Toward the end of the first half, more than one dispute between players had to be broken up. “I got a little hot headed at the moment,” Ewing said. Thompson backed up his senior. “We all know Patrick would get emotional in a room full of 5-year-olds,” he said. “That’s one of his strengths.” Radford Head Coach Brad Greenberg said that he wanted his team to keep it competitive but clean. “When you’re getting spanked you want to keep fighting back,” said Greenberg, adding that he discussed the topic “aggressively” with his team at the break. The second half was cleaner on both sides of the court. While Radford was a nice break for Georgetown during finals, the team will have its plate full with its next game, when the Hoyas visit No. 2 Memphis for a noon tip-off next Saturday. The game will be broadcast live from the Fed-Ex Forum on ESPN.

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