Hoyas' Hibbert Sizes Up His Opponent, Scores 17

Georgetown 70, Stetson 50

Georgetown sophomore Roy Hibbert is used to walking on the court and towering above the rest of the players; he is, after all, 7 feet 2. But last night against visiting Stetson, Hibbert could look his defender -- the wonderfully named Chief Kickingstallionsims, a 7-1 sophomore -- squarely in the eye.

It was a different experience, but Hibbert was just as effective as he was earlier in the season against smaller foes. Kickingstallionsims -- whose last name is so long that the back of his uniform says "Chief" instead -- did little to slow Hibbert, who had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocked shots and helped lead the Hoyas to a 70-50 victory in front of 2,164 at McDonough Gym.

"It's nice playing against another guy my size," said Hibbert, who shot 5 of 9 in 26 minutes. "I don't get to play against many that size. It was nice. I just went out with the same mentality as if I was playing someone 6-4 or 6-8."

The Hoyas (5-2) haven't lost at their cozy on-campus gym since a 60-58 defeat to Pennsylvania in January 1981. But they haven't played many games in McDonough since then -- Saturday's game was their 26th. (Georgetown moved its home games to Capital Centre during the 1981-82 season.) The atmosphere at McDonough -- loud and raucous -- is a stark contrast to cavernous MCI Center, Georgetown's current home.

At MCI Center, the students are relegated to seats behind the baskets; at McDonough, they sit just feet away from the team benches. The student section tormented the Hatters (0-8), imploring Coach Derek Waugh to "Wear a tie!" (he was wearing a black, long-sleeve polo) and wondering "Where is Stetson?" (It's in DeLand, Fla.)

"Playing in McDonough, on campus is good," Georgetown Coach John Thompson III said. "Every time we've done it, our fans have been great and we really feed off of their energy and enthusiasm. To have them right on top of you helped. We've come out in some games and have been flat, and that was not the case tonight. Our fans had a lot to do with that."

Georgetown scored the first 15 points of the game. Stetson attempted only two shots in the first 3 minutes 30 seconds, and only one of them even hit the rim. By the time Hibbert dunked a missed three-pointer by Brandon Bowman (12 points) with 4 minutes 17 seconds remaining in the first half, the Hoyas had a 39-14 lead, and they had nearly as many dunks (three) as the Hatters had field goals (four).

Freshman forward Marc Egerson had his best game of the season, scoring 12 points and grabbing four rebounds in 23 minutes. Sophomore forward Jeff Green had six assists and six rebounds to go with seven points.

The only Hoya who didn't play was senior Darrel Owens, the team's sixth man. Owens rolled his ankle at practice this past week and was held out as a precaution. Thompson said that the injury is not serious. Georgetown's next game is Wednesday against Savannah State.

Hibbert, a former Georgetown Prep standout, scored in a variety of ways, sometimes using his strength to back Kickingstallionsims (two points, two rebounds) down on the block, sometimes using his quickness to spin by him. About the only blemish for Hibbert was his free throw shooting; he made 7 of 9 from the line, and his miss early in the second half snapped a streak of 25 consecutive made free throws.

"I was thinking about that one," Hibbert said. "That's how basketball is, how life is. I'm going to go for another 25."

Hibbert smiled when he was told that the free throw streak was a record for a Georgetown big man. He was happy with the accomplishment, but added, "I hope I could check off some other stuff on my checklist before I leave here."