Hoyas Get Home Work Done

Georgetown 78, Savannah St. 49

Darrel Owens scores for the Hoyas (6-2), who were led by Roy Hibbert's 16 points and 11 rebounds. (By John Mcdonnell -- The Washington Post)

The just-completed three-game homestand for the Georgetown men's basketball team wasn't filled with pedigreed opponents or thrilling games, but it did give the Hoyas a chance to pick up easy victories. Last night, the Hoyas overwhelmed Savannah State, 78-49, in front of an announced crowd of 4,875 at MCI Center.

The first five games of the Hoyas' schedule were devoted to playing on the road against difficult opponents, which would help prepare them for the looming Big East season. Following that stretch, Georgetown beat Fairfield, Stetson, and Savannah State by an average of 24.7 points.

"We just basically don't focus on the opponent, we concentrate on getting better," said senior guard Ashanti Cook, a team captain. "We prepare for each game like we're playing Illinois or Oregon or a Big East opponent. We focus on what we need to do and correct to get better."

The Tigers (1-12) were the weakest of the lot; they entered the game with an RPI ranking of 331 out of 334 Division I teams. Savannah State, which is coached by former Georgetown guard Horace Broadnax, was playing its sixth game in 11 days.

Georgetown (6-2) has two more games before opening its Big East schedule with Providence on Jan. 5. Next week, the Hoyas travel to El Paso for the Sun Bowl Tournament, where they will play Colgate and then UTEP or Mississippi Valley State.

Four players scored in double figures for the Hoyas, who led by 35 points in the second half. Georgetown shot 50.9 percent from the field -- the fourth time this season that it has made at least half of its shots -- and held a 41-21 rebounding edge.

The point of these last three games -- aside from picking up wins -- was to give the Hoyas a chance to try lineups and give younger players experience.

"We're trying to get ready for Big East play," Thompson said. "You get some minutes for some guys, you get some opportunities for some guys to be in situations that they normally may not be in. Do you get anything out of it? I think you get something out of every game you play, and hopefully you come out with wins."

Freshman guard Jessie Sapp, an All-Met from National Christian, seemed to benefit the most from the three-game stretch. He played at least 22 minutes in each game, and looked increasingly comfortable running the offense, totaling six assists and committing no turnovers. Against the Tigers, he scored a season-high 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

"It gives experience and confidence for him to have in the long run, to get used to running the team," Cook said. "Jessie's been doing a pretty good job of running the team, and on defense as well. It gives us another guard, another body to throw in there."

The Tigers had no one who could match up with 7-foot-2 sophomore Roy Hibbert, who had 16 points and 11 rebounds. He played 19 minutes in the first half -- the most of any starter, and a test of his durability.

"He was pretty effective," Thompson said. "It was a tight contest for a while there, and we got to the point where he was tired and we wanted to leave him out there and have him fight through those situations when he's tired. He's growing, he's learning. He's continuing to get to the point where he's effective versus smaller guys and bigger guys."

Hoyas Note: This was last of three Hispanic Fund Classic games played by the Hoyas. Nine teams participated in the NCAA-certified event, which took place at three schools (Georgetown, Oregon and N.C. State) and used experimental rules (a wider lane and an extended three-point arc). Georgetown went 3-0, also beating Oregon and Stetson.