Georgetown and Penn State came into the Gavitt Games needing to make a firm statement.
One team showed up… the other team was Georgetown. Penn State would throttle the Hoyas at Capital One, 81-66.
This loss did nothing to calm the nerves of a fan base that was on edge after two ho-hum wins over mid-major schools.
The Hoyas would quickly fall down by 18 points amid a myriad of turnovers and hot three point shooting from the Nittany Lions. Penn State would end the half 7-14 from the three point line.
Penn State sophomore Myreon Jones had 16 at halftime with most of it coming during the initial blitz. Jones would finish with a career-high 21 points.
Georgetown climbed back in it with some full court 1-2-2 pressure that led to some easy opportunities. But there were times when Georgetown would force a turnover only to turn it back over in transition. The Hoyas would end the first half with 13 turnovers that led to 16 Penn State points.
Hoyas would start the second half with a James Akinjo steal and Omer Yurtseven dunk/three point play.
That would be the highlight of the half.
Penn State got off to a 9-17 shooting start to the half and eventually pushed the lead back to 17. From there the Hoyas never got closer than 10 even though, the Nittany Lions gave them some opening with empty possessions of their own.
Turnover Woes
Coach Ewing has spoken about turnovers since the day he got here. It continues to be an issue in year 3.
Tonight the turnovers came in all shapes and sizes. Some of the most critical came in the first half when the Hoyas would turn the ball over in transition.
But that is far from being the only turnover bug-a-boo. The Hoyas found themselves stripped by driving the ball to the basket. There were the obligatory “try to dribble through three defenders” turnovers and the “my bad I dropped your perfect pass” ones.
The Hoyas head to New York next week where they will face Texas and either Cal or Duke.
If Georgetown wants to make the tournament, this type of play can’t continue. There isn’t a quality team in the non-conference or conference schedule they can beat when they’re turning the ball over “19 times. That led to 22 Penn State points.
What’s even more inexcusable is the fact that this isn’t a young team. James Akinjo and Mac McClung might be sophomores but they started most of last season. JaMorko Pickett is a junior.
Notes
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- Yurtseven would notch his third straight double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
- Georgetown has 45 turnovers through the first three games.
Quotes
Coach Ewing (Georgetown) on the pressing Penn State: “We wanted to speed them up. They want to play slow. We want to play fast”
Coach Ewing (Georgetown) on the struggles on defense: “It starts with the individual. You have to be able to stop your guy… at least make him work”
Coach Chambers (Penn State) on Jamari Wheeler: “He impacted the game all over the place defensively, rebounding, toughness, steals, dives, dropping dimes. I mean that’s the little engine that could”
Coach Chambers (Penn State): “Thought our defense and rebounding were timely.”
Postgame
Penn State
Georgetown
