On the third-best three-point shooting day in program history (14 made trifectas), the Georgetown frontcourt, led by senior forward Julian Vaughn, took a step towards reassuring the Hoya faithful that the frontcourt would assert itself this year in an 80-61 win over Coastal Carolina in the first round of the Charleston Classic.

The Hoyas came out shooting against the Coastal Carolina zone in the first half, going 8-of-15 from downtown, but 10 turnovers, eight fouls and no trips to the free-throw line helped keep the Chanticleers close. With senior guard Austin Freeman in foul trouble, Georgetown overcame 16 turnovers – a potentially costly habit the Hoyas are developing – and continued its early season trend of sharing the ball, assisting on every one of its 12 field goals in the first half and on 26 of its 32 makes for the game. In all, the Hoyas went to the line just five times compared to 21 attempts for Coastal Carolina.

The little three of Freeman, senior guard Chris Wright and junior guard Jason Clark continued their dominance and paced the Hoyas all afternoon. Freeman scored 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, while Wright notched 12 points and a career-high 12 assists and Clark led with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, four rebounds and four assists. As a team, the Hoyas went 14-of-28 from downtown.

“This is probably the second game in a row where we took too many [threes],” Head Coach John Thompson III told reporters after the game. “But if your question is whether our guys can make them at that clip, my answer is yes. . We have guys who, across the board, will make open shots.”

“It just shows that we have so many scorers,” Wright said. “Once Hollis [Thompson] starts knocking down his threes and all his jumpers, it will hopefully be more. It’s just being able to find guys and find them in the right spots. Jason [Clark] has been shooting the ball like crazy. And you have to find guys when they’re hot.”

aking the trip down to Charleston several hours after his teammates, Vaughn, who missed the Tulane game with an undisclosed illness, was cleared to play and back in the starting lineup. He scored the first points of the game on an emphatic dunk, but with Thompson playing it safe, Vaughn saw frequent breathers early on and struggled to hold onto the ball in traffic during the first half.

Guards Desmond Holloway (13 points) and Kierre Greenwood (16 points) carried the load for Coastal Carolina and did their best to match Georgetown’s highly touted backcourt. On the defensive end, they spurred a Chanticleer 1-3-1 zone that got in the Hoyas’ passing lanes.

Coming out of the locker room, the Hoyas were determined to get production inside against the Big South Conference favorite. They opened the half on a 9-3 run, which included a three-point play on a drive by Clark and a polished right-handed jump hook off the glass by Vaughn, who finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. Later in the half, junior center Henry Sims took a Wright dish for an easy layup, and Freeman caught a bounce pass on the baseline for a reverse left-handed lay-in. Whether it was the big men or the guards getting inside, the paint came to life for the first time this season.

The Hoyas opened up a 51-33 lead with 13 minutes left to play, but more turnovers and an 11-0 run by the Chanticleers brought them back to within seven. A wide-open three-pointer from Freeman on a skip pass from Clark pushed the lead to 10 with 10:12 left in the game, and on the next possessions, Clark tacked on another three-pointer and followed that with a two in the lane.

With 8:08 left, Wright tallied his 11th assist and found Vaughn for a two-handed dunk. On the next trip down, he hit the Hoyas’ 13th three-pointer of the game to extend the lead to16 at 64-48. Freeman, who has built a reputation as a second-half player, brought scored 14 of his 20 points after halftime.

Georgetown is back on the court at Carolina First Arena today at 2:30 p.m. against Wofford.

“