BULLDOGGIN’: Hoyas Pound Samford 99-71

The Georgetown Hoyas (9-3) beat the Samford Bulldogs (6-8) on Saturday afternoon, 99-71. It was Coach Patrick Ewing and the Hoyas’ fifth straight win, somewhat surprisingly, in the midst of ostensible transfer issues and heavy media scrutiny stemming from the publicized legal actions.

Omer Yurtseven led the way with a career-high 32 points (15-21 FG) and 15 rebounds. Mac McClung also added 25 points (10-19, 2-5 3PT) and 5 assists. Terrell Allen only had 3 points but dished 7 assists. Jamorko Pickett added 14 points and Jagan Mosely had 8 points. Jahvon Blair had 11 points off the bench but only shot 1-5 from three.

First Half

Georgetown led 44-32 at the half. The lead was largely built on a 20-7 run by the Hoyas. However, the Bulldogs cut into that lead with a 14-4 run of their own into halftime.

The Hoyas shot 16-37 from the field and a pathetic 1-11 from three (McClung 1-4 3PT). The high number of FG attempts is partially attributable to the 12 offensive rebounds (28 for the half). Yurtseven had a double-double at the half with 16 points (7-10) and 11 rebounds. McClung had 12 points on 5-12 shooting with 3 assists. Pickett scored 8 points on 3-7 from the field (0-2 3PT).

Samford was 11-28 from the field and 6-16 from three. Josh Sharkey led with 13 points (4-7 FG, 3-4 3PT), and 4 assists. Brandon Austin had 10 points on 4-7 from the field (2-5 3PT). Samford had 9 turnovers compared to Georgetown’s 8 giveaways.

Second Half

Both teams continued the strenuous pace in the second half. Austin hit a three and the lead was down to 10 points (44-34). That was the closest Samford got as Georgetown continued to feed the paint to push a 18-2 run (62-36 with 16:06 left). Samford was forced to press constantly and eventually wore down.

Georgetown’s shooting improved in the second half, save for the reserves who missed 7 shots on their final possession. Overall the Hoyas shot 38-78 (48.7%) from the field and 4-16 from three. Thus, in the second half they were 22-41 and 3 for 5 from beyond the arc. Georgetown out-rebounded Samford 53-30 for the game and had only 10 turnovers.

For SAM, Austin had 26 points (9-16, 5-10 3PT) and Sharkey had 24 points ( 7-16, 3-6 3PT) with 7 assists. The Bulldogs shot 24-49 overall and 9-27 from three-point land. Georgetown turned Samford over 15 times.

Also of note, Georgetown’s Timothy Ighoefe scored his first bucket.

Patrick Ewing’s squad hosts American University next Saturday before the Big East conference play begins in Providence on New Year’s Eve.