HOP ON THE DELUSION TRAIN HOYA FANS. Georgetown won a masterpiece tonight at the Maui Invitational, beating Memphis 91-88 in overtime. The Hoyas were led by their seniors - Jason Clark and Henry Sims - both of whom were spectacular. Sims, the oft-maligned big man, scored 24 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and dished out 5 assists in by far the best game of his career. Clark had another monster game, including the biggest bucket of the night in overtime, scoring 26 points on 9-17 shooting.
Hollis Thompson and Markel Starks were also in double figures, each scoring 12 points at crucial moments. Hoya fans had low expectations going into this season, with 10 of 13 players on the roster only freshmen and sophomores. Yet, tonight's poised and gritty victory begs the question "Should I book my tickets to New Orleans?" Well, probably not yet. But for a team that was picked to finish 10th in the Big East at the beginning of the season, the future is looking brighter by the day.
Jump Around after The Jump.
Words can't describe just how good Henry Sims was tonight. He showed a dazzling array of post moves, a feathery jumper, and a toughness that no one could have envisioned when his senior campaign started. More than that, he was MEAN tonight. He knew that he had a size advantage over anyone on Memphis, and he made their bigs his little HankToys. When Sims wasn't knocking down 15 footers or hitting reverse layups, he was finding cutters, dishing assists from the top of the key. Not to mention, he grabbed huge rebounds and set wide picks to free Clark for open three pointers. Clark did exactly what you'd hope a senior captain with over 100 games of experience would do tonight. He picked up the Hoyas with those long ass arms and knocked down the biggest three pointer of the game. Georgetown was down a point with under a minute left when he cooly stepped behind Sims for a handoff and knocked down a 24 footer.
While the seniors led, we'd be foolish not to mention how well three freshmen played. Otto Porter scored 9 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, had 4 steals, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 turnover in 40 minutes of action. Sweet Baby Jesus, he is awesome. Greg Whittington followed a Sims miss at the end of regulation with a huge tip in to tie the game and send it to overtime. And Jabril Trawick played masterful defense in 14 minutes of action, adding 4 points and boatload of swagger.
There are definitely points of improvement for the Hoyas as they head back to the mainland, namely keeping Markel Starks on the floor and getting better production out of Nate Lubick. But more than anything, we learned that this Georgetown team is going to compete, is going to defend, and is going to be a blast to watch this season. Next up for Georgetown is IUPUI on Monday, which will be the first time they are ranked all season. Any voter watching the last three days knows that the boys in Blue and Gray are one of the top 25 teams in the country. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.