The Georgetown men’s basketball team won their fourth consecutive game, defeating the La Salle Explorers 93-78 Saturday afternoon in the HoopHall Invitational at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami.
The first half of the contest featured high-scoring but also sloppy play with both teams committing a combined 29 fouls.
La Salle (4-4) came out sluggish, and Georgetown (6-4) gained a comfortable lead with freshman guard Jagan Mosely and graduate student guard Rodney Pryor making early three-pointers. However, two early fouls from Pryor forced him out of the game midway through the half, and La Salle went on an 8-1 run to cut Georgetown’s lead to three.
La Salle redshirt senior guard Jordan Price scored 15 first half points, and the Explorers continued to find success in the paint with little resistance from the Hoyas. The game remained very close for a large part of the first half, but through timely free throw shooting — 86.3 free throw percentage in the first half — and 15 first half points from junior guard LJ Peak, the Hoyas gained their edge back.
The Hoyas staged a 10-3 run in response, with five points coming from sophomore forward Marcus Derrickson, who played 31 minutes on the day. With six seconds left in the half, Mosely blocked a shot and Peak grabbed the ball and went coast-to-coast to finish at the rim as time expired, giving Georgetown a 47-41 halftime lead.
In the second half, Pryor immediately entered the game and provided an important boost for the Hoyas. The game was tied at 67-67 with 8:20 left before Pryor gave the team its lead back. From there, Georgetown went on a run, capped by junior forward Akoy Agau’s free throws, which put the team up 78-68 with six minutes left. After several missed shots, La Salle had one last push and cut the deficit to seven. However, Pryor answered once again with a deep three-pointer, clinching Georgetown’s lead as the Blue and Gray maintained a double-digit advantage for the remainder of the game.
Strong efforts came from sophomore center Jesse Govan, who finished with 18 points and six rebounds, and Peak, who led the Hoyas with 24 points. Mosely provided much help on the offensive side of the floor, scoring a career-high 14 points and dishing out six assists. The Hoyas finished shooting 53.2 percent from the floor, 25-of-47, and 83.7 percent from the free throw line, 36-of-43.
Georgetown now has a week off before facing long-time rival Syracuse (6-3) away at the Carrier Dome. The Orange, who made the final four last year, look to avenge their 79-72 loss to the Hoyas last season. Tipoff is set for Saturday, Dec. 17 at 12 p.m., and the game will be televised on ESPN.
