All About D: No. 20 Georgetown Over American

Eagles score 12 in first half

This was as good as defense gets, even for the Hoyas.

Georgetown beat American University 73-49 on Saturday, coasting late after a dominant first half in which the 20th-ranked Hoyas hounded the Eagles into 20 percent shooting, more than twice as many turnovers as field goals, and only 12 points.

Chris Wright was 8-of-10 from the field and scored a career-high 22 points for Georgetown (5-1), while Jessie Sapp and DaJuan Summers added 14 each for a Hoyas squad that made half of its 20 shots from 3-point range.

But such numbers were not really germane on this afternoon. No, this game was all about the hosts' "D."

Georgetown began the game on a 13-0 run, then closed the first half on a 16-0 run. American (4-4) was shut out for more than 5 1/2 minutes during the first stretch, more than 6 1/2 minutes during the latter.

The halftime score was 40-12, the fewest points allowed in a first half by Georgetown since John Thompson III became coach in 2004.

Here's how it went: AU's first five possessions each ended with the Eagles turning the ball over. The sixth ended with Georgetown's 6-foot-11 freshman Greg Monroe blocking a shot by American's 5-11 Garrison Carr.

That was part of an overall poor showing by Carr, who entered the day leading American with his 18.7 scoring average but scored only nine points on 2-for-17 shooting. One major problem for Carr and the rest of his team: Repeatedly, AU would find itself with only 5 or so seconds left on the 35-second shot clock and still no open look available.

Good defense is nothing new for Georgetown, of course. The Hoyas led the nation in opponents' field-goal percentage last season at 36.6, and Thompson's team entered Saturday holding foes to 34.4 percent this season.

American had 12 turnovers and only five field goals (out of 25 attempts) in the first half. It finished the game 18-for-52 from the field (35 percent) with 20 turnovers.

Georgetown, meanwhile, shot 59 percent.

The Eagles didn't manage to even get a shot attempt until nearly 3 minutes elapsed -- a 3-pointer that missed. AU's next attempt was off the mark, too. American finally got on the scoreboard on Brian Gilmore's 3-pointer with 14:19 left in the first half.

That started a 12-11 spurt for the Eagles, who pulled within 24-12 on Carr's driving basket with 6:52 to go before halftime. Georgetown, though, responded by scoring the last 16 points of the half, nine from Wright.

Georgetown has rebounded well against local teams after losing to Tennessee in a tournament in Florida on Nov. 28. First, the Hoyas beat Maryland by 27, then they dispensed with American.

AU just might want to reconsider this rivalry. Georgetown beat American by 27 points last season, when the schools resumed their in-city series after not having played since 1986.

American made its NCAA basketball tournament debut last season and currently has five seniors in its starting lineup. But the Eagles are now on a three-game losing streak. 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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