In their final nonconference matchup of the season, the Georgetown University men’s basketball team delivered an 83-53 beatdown against the Coppin State University Eagles on Dec. 28.
The Hoyas were optimistic going into the match, with Georgetown (11-2, 2-0 Big East) nearly 30-point favorites over Coppin State (1-13) ahead of tipoff. Nevertheless, the Hoyas knew they could not underestimate the struggling team that was coming off their first win of the season against Navy and that took Georgetown to overtime just two seasons ago.
The Hoyas were missing star junior guard Jayden Epps as well, who was out and listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Sophomore guard Malik Mack made his return to the starting lineup after sitting out two games with a lower-body injury and made an immediate impact, scoring a 3-pointer to put the first points of the game on the board. The Hoyas then sprinted out to an 8-1 lead in the first three minutes before the Eagles fought back to an 11-12 deficit at the 13:41 mark, with all points scored by guard Toby Nnadozie.
Georgetown continued to shoot well in the first half, and sophomore guard Curtis Williams Jr. made his mark on the game with back to back 3-pointers to put Georgetown up 21-13 before committing a technical foul almost immediately after. However, Coppin State was able to stay in the game as the Georgetown squad’s relative inexperience began to show. The Hoyas appeared to be plagued with communication issues on offense throughout the first half, committing 10 turnovers, which directly resulted in 9 points for Coppin State.
Strong performances from first-year center Thomas Sorber and sophomore forward Drew Fielder — responsible for 25 of the team’s points in the first half — as well as a rebound advantage of over 2:1 kept the Hoyas above water. At the break, the Hoyas and Eagles headed to the locker room with Georgetown up 37-30.
Georgetown returned for the second half with a more airtight defensive strategy and their hot shooting still intact, but still struggled with turnovers and connecting offensively. The team’s frustration began to show, as evidenced by two late fouls by Fielder around the 14 minute mark.
Meanwhile, Coppin State began to crack under the pressure, not converting a single field goal until nearly 9 minutes into the second half.
Inspired by an and-1 layup from Sorber and a gutsy rebound by first-year forward Caleb Williams, Georgetown began to find their offensive groove around the 12-minute mark, steadily padding their lead with a 21-2 run to make the score 65-39 with 8:29 left to play.
The Eagles refused to give up and fought to stay in the game, even going on a 7-0 run at one point. But the Hoyas couldn’t be stopped, steamrolling their opponents to a final score of 83-53.
Georgetown’s big men were the talk of the game, combining for 42 points. Fielder had a career game with 20 points and 13 rebounds, his first double-double. Sorber once again had a standout game with a team-leading 22 points, along with 12 rebounds and 4 blocks.
Mack had an emphatic return to play as well, recording 15 points and 11 assists. The Hoyas put up strong rebounding numbers and shot well, going 55.6% from the field and 44.4% from three-point range.
Despite the strong showing, offensive sloppiness remained an issue throughout the game for Georgetown, with the Hoyas committing 19 turnovers compared to Coppin State’s 9.
With their fourth straight win, Georgetown is off to their best start since the 2011-12 season. The 30-point victory is sure to boost the Hoyas’ confidence before they continue a grueling Big East schedule in the new year, with games against top teams like the University of Connecticut, Marquette University and St. John’s University on the horizon in January.
The Hoyas are back in action Jan. 3, when they continue Big East play with a matchup against Xavier University (8-5, 0-2 Big East) at Capital One Arena.