View From Press Row: Hoyas Extend Winning Streak to Four

They are literally three possessions away from being 8-0. And if you're looking at them like an 8-0 team, it's probably a top-10 team in the country at the worst. They're terrific, we knew that coming in. - Brown Coach Mike Martin on Georgetown

A little more than 48 hours after dismantling their biggest rivals in Syracuse, Georgetown made quick work of Brown as the Hoyas used a dominating first half to push their winning streak up to four games after that rocky start.

L.J. Peak led three double-figure scorers with 13 points in 19 minutes while Bradley Hayes recorded his second double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds as ten Hoyas scored in the 74-57 win in front of an intimate gathering of 4,690 die-hard fans.  The Hoyas would eventually lead by as many as 34 points in a game that was decided not long after the opening whistle.

Quick start: Georgetown came out and did exactly what was needed in jumping all over the Bears. Hayes hit a bank shot from just inside the free throw line to put the Hoyas ahead 24-4 ten minutes into the game.  By halftime Georgetown led 46-15 by dominating on both ends of the court.  They Hoyas played eleven guys in the first half and shot 56.7 percent while limiting Brown to just 23.3 percent.  Georgetown was hot from deep early on by going 7-of-13 from 3-point range.  D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Isaac Copeland, and Peak all hit two 3-pointers in the first twenty minutes.  Meanwhile Brown was just 1 for 11 from beyond the arc.

"I think it was very important," Hayes said when asked about the Hoyas quick start. "We all had in our minds that this was still a very big game. We came off a big game with Syracuse, but every game is important to us and that's what we wanted to show when we walked out on the court tonight."

Turnovers: Coming into tonight's game Georgetown had 99 assists to go against 96 turnovers.  JT3's better teams always have a much better assist to turnover ratio than their current 1:1 mark.  Well against Brown the Hoyas were unable to get that number going in the right direction after finishing with 18 to the good and 18 to the bad.  Isaac Copeland and Marcus Derrickson each struggled with three turnovers a piece.  This has to be the biggest area of concern right now for JT3 as it's likely that once the conference season starts, the familiar foes will amp up the pressure - particularly with the shorter shot clock.

The Second Team: Just ten minutes into the game JT3 had an all bench lineup of Tre Campbell, Reggie Cameron, Kaleb Johnson, Paul White, and Jessie Govan on the floor.  Now more so than in previous seasons, JT3 is going deep into his bench but it still is a bit unusual to see him go so long without a set rotation. Some of that is the depth of talent that he has at his disposable and some of it has to do with earlier injuries that probably forced his hand.

The Hoyas head man used eleven players in the first half with eight of them scoring.  Riyan Williams eventually got in the for the final three minutes meaning that all of the healthy players saw the court.  The playing time was the most even all season with no player seeing more than 23 minutes and nine of the guys getting at least 15 minutes of action.  Only Mourning and Williams failed to see double figure minutes.

Of all of the players coming off the bench it seems as though the progress of sophomore Paul White is something to keep track of as we move forward.  White missed the Hoyas first four games with a hip injury as Georgetown got off to a 1-3 start.  Coming into tonight's game against Brown, White had missed all three of his field goal attempts - all 3-pointers - and had played just 23 minutes.

In 17 minutes against Brown, White opened his scoring account by finishing with four points on 2-of-4 shooting to go along with four rebounds and an assist.  JT3 admitted the importance of getting White back on track as the season goes forward.

"Without a doubt, Paul's been injured and he's still sluggish," JT3 said about White's slow start to the season. "We need to get him to where he gets into his groove and he gets comfortable, he's still not there yet."

Just Missed: Literally.  Tre Campbell's missed 3-pointer with 24 seconds remaining meant that the Hoyas would finish 30-for-61 on the night.  Through eight games the Hoyas have shot better than 50 percent from the field just once and that was in the 86-84 loss to Duke at Madison Square Garden.  Conversely Georgetown has yet to let a team shoot 50 percent or better against them. 

Peaking:  L.J. Peak made multiple 3-pointers in a game for just the fourth time his career.  Peak has a high of three 3-pointers which he has done twice, most recently against Utah in the NCAA Tournament last season. Peak is now 4-for-15 on the season from deep but he's made three of his last five after a rough start.

Notes: DSR became the 15^th Hoya to join the 1,500 point club after the senior guard scored 12 against Brown.  DSR is the first Hoya since Austin Freeman (2011) to join the club. 

Reggie Cameron had a career high five rebounds in 17 minutes. Cameron had just seven rebounds all of last season.

Riyan Williams made his first goal as a Hoya with 1:07 remaining.  Williams came into the game 0-for-4 from the field but had previously scored three points from the free throw line in his three seasons. 

Hayes is now tied with Derrickson for the team lead in double-doubles with two. 

After making 21 3-pointers as a freshmen, Copeland has already made 15 through eight games while shooting 45 percent.