American University players and alumni met before Saturday’s game to commemorate the Eagles’ 62-61 upset of then-No. 5 Georgetown in 1982. The celebration continued seven minutes into this year’s affair, and then, with stifling defense reminiscent of those 1980s Hoyas’ teams, Georgetown crashed the party, cruising to a 78-51 win. After a hot start from the Eagles (7-6), the Hoyas (9-1) shook off the Christmas rust and took control of the game. Shooting 7-of-12 as a team, the Eagles jumped out to a 19-13 lead seven minutes into the game. Junior guards Derrick Mercer and Garrison Carr combined to go 5-of-5 from behind the arc in that stretch and finished with 17 and 16 points, respectively. The Hoyas’ defense then tightened, limiting the Eagles to one field goal over the next eight minutes as Georgetown took a 29-21 lead at the five minute mark. “We did a conscious effort to do a better job of protecting the 3-point line,” Head Coach John Thompson III said in a press release, “as opposed to giving them the Sunday, driveway, down-at-the-park, at-the-Boys’-Club shots.” Senior center Roy Hibbert, who scored just six points in last Saturday’s 14-point loss to No. 2 Memphis, netted eight in the first half. As a team, the Hoyas shot 71.4 percent from the field over the first 20 minutes and finished at a 60.4 clip. Georgetown increased its 10-point halftime lead to 65-36 with nine minutes remaining in the second half, and Thompson began emptying his bench. Nine Hoyas played between 17 and 24 minutes, and six recorded either 20 or 21 minutes on the floor. In addition to Georgetown’s accuracy from the field, the Hoyas were 12-of-16 from the free throw line, good for 75 percent. While 75 percent is not normally an astonishing number from the charity stripe, it is a noticeable improvement on the 57.2 percent Georgetown entered the game with. Freshman guard Chris Wright was a perfect 4-of-4 from both the field and the line. He had 13 points to go with his team-high four assists and two steals. Joining Wright in double digits were sophomore forward DaJuan Summers (16 points), Hibbert (14) and senior guard Jonathan Wallace (11). With his team-high 16 points, Summers joins Hibbert as the Hoyas’ leading scorer on the season at 12.2 points per game. Although Georgetown out-rebounded American, it only held a 28-26 edge, and the Eagles had a 9-5 advantage on the offensive glass. Despite a four-inch advantage over American’s tallest player, Hibbert managed just one rebound. “Our rebounding is an issue,” Thompson said. “We have to pursue the ball better than we have been. For us to win this year, we have to do a better job of limiting people to one shot and, just as important, getting second shots for us. It’s across the board; it’s not just Roy.” Hibbert donned a new look for the game, ditching the T-shirt under his jersey that has been a staple for both him and Georgetown’s other big-name big men including Patrick Ewing (CAS ’85), Dikembe Mutombo (FLL ’91) and Alonzo Mourning (COL ’92). “I decided to change my whole attitude,” Hibbert said. “I think that started with [the T-shirt]. … I think the T-shirt was making me sweat a little bit more and holding me back a little bit, so I thought I’d try something different for right now.” Hoya fans will have a chance to see if Hibbert sticks with the new look on New Years Eve when Georgetown plays host to Fordham. The Rams will enter at 6-5 and winners of three of their last four. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at Verizon Center. onday’s game against Fordham will be the Hoyas’ last contest before the Big East season begins. There are five Big East teams in the top 25, but Georgetown will hit the road to take on the bottom of the conference in the first two games: 8-5 Rutgers (Jan. 5) and 3-7 DePaul (Jan. 8). Free Throws – The announced attendance of 10,564 was the third highest for a Georgetown home game this season. Even though the students are on break, with the Hoyas’ opponent hailing from just up Foxhall Road, Verizon Center had nearly 2,000 more spectators than December wins over Fairfield and Jacksonville. – Freshman guard Austin Freeman led the team with five rebounds. It was the third time this year that a guard has led the Hoyas in rebounding. – The Hoyas dropped to eighth in the Associated Press poll after their loss to Memphis. After beating Maryland for the first time in 80 years last Saturday, the Eagles received one vote in the AP poll. – The last time Hibbert notched just one rebound was a Jan. 17, 2006 win over South Florida.