The Georgetown Hoyas advanced to the final of the third Annual Charleston Classic with a 74-59 victory over the Wofford Terriers. The Hoyas were paced by guard Chris Wright, who led Georgetown with 18 points 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.
The Hoyas scored the first nine points of the game and never looked back in the first half, taking a 37-24 lead into the locker room. Georgetown made a concerted effort to establish an inside presence against the undersized Wofford squad, pounding the ball inside to Julian Vaughn early. Vaughn finished the game with 12 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks, including 7 rebounds and 4 blocks in the first half alone.
Happy recap after The Jump:
It appeared that the Hoyas would cruise to victory, but the inevitable three point barrage by the Terriers to begin the second half made things interesting, as a 13-6 run cut the Hoyas lead to 6. Georgetown was stagnant on the offensive end and a tad too generous defensively as the Terriers managed to hang in the game and cut to lead to just 5 with nine minutes to go. However, Georgetown responded with a spurt of aggressive play led by Henry Sims (yes, that Henry Sims), whose impressive play underneath seemed to inspire his teammates as Georgetown's extended the lead back to double figures and that was that.
Georgetown's full court press suffocated the Terriers Michael Vick style (what!) with intense defense on both ends of the court, forcing 11 turnovers and allowing just 17 field goals.
Georgetown once again took what the opponent game them on the offensive end, displaying an impressive ability both in the paint and behind the arc. When the Terriers made a concerted effort to stifle Georgetown's shooters at the outset playing an aggressive man-to-man defense, the Hoyas exploited it with a few nifty backdoor cuts for easy baskets. When Wofford later went zone, Georgetown knocked down shots from the outside. For the game Georgetown shot 57% from the field and 63% from downtown. In sharp contrast to yesterday's opener when the Hoyas attempted 30 threes, today Georgetown attempted only seven, making five.
Georgetown improved to 4-0 on the season, and look to make it five wins in a row in the Charleston Classic final on Sunday night against the winner of tonight's battle between NC State and George Mason.
Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose.