Marcus “Mook” Washington covered the two hottest team in the DC Metro area in the same day
The DMV (District, Maryland, Virginia) is a basketball rich area that serve as the home to several division 1 schools.
Georgetown and George Mason has been the two hottest teams in the area over the past few weeks.
Georgetown’s hot streak started in the unlikeliest of times. Four players on the Hoyas roster transferred for various reasons. Two, Josh LeBlanc and James Akinjo, transferred prior to the Hoyas most important non-conference road trip. Georgetown came away with wins at Oklahoma State and SMU. Both teams were undefeated at the time.
Galen Alexander and Myron Gardner would transfer when the Hoyas got back in town. That left head coach Patrick Ewing with seven scholarship players. Georgetown would respond with two more wins. The first came against old Big East rival, Syracuse followed by a dominating performance against UMBC.
Today, the Hoyas faced Samford. The Bulldogs are coached by former National Champion, Scott Padgett. Padgett’s crew pushed pace early and that seem to give Georgetown a little trouble. In fact, Georgetown was down 9-8 at the first media timeout.
But the Hoyas would get it going with a 20-7 run that would balloon the lead to 40-18. During the run, Mac McClung would go for 10 points, three rebounds, and two assists. Double-double machine, Omer Yurtseven, had 16 points and 11 rebounds by halftime. But it was Samford who closed the half strong and cut the Georgetown lead to just 13.
Samford’s Brandon Austin opened the half with a three pointer and the Bulldogs were as close as they had been (10) since the 7:25 was left in the first half. That would be as close as it would get. Georgetown would go on an 11-0 run. That was part of a bigger 18-2 run that would put the Hoyas up 62-36.
Georgetown would cruise to a 99-71 victory.
George Mason 69 UMBC 53
George Mason was looking to extend their winning streak to six when UMBC visited EagleBank Arena. The Patriots had grabbed a title in Florida when they won the Cayman Island Classic. The only loss came at Maryland.
The Patriots headed into the UMBC off of what amounted to be an extended vacation. George Mason hadn’t played in 14 days.
Early on there was no rust as they jumped out to a 9-0 lead. The Retrievers would fight back and tie the game at 17 in a half that had a lot of choppy play. That’s when your best players have to be your best players.
Jordan Miller and Javon Greene would lead the Patriots in the first half with eight points a piece. Freshman Xavier Johnson would hit two 3-pointers as the Patriots took control of the half.
George Mason would open the half on a 12-2 run pushing their lead to 17. A Jamal Hartwell II three pointer would push the lead to 54-34. UMBC would never get closer than 12 points
But by far, the best player on the floor was Miller. His ability to make the Retrievers pay every time they lost him was key to the blowout. Miller would finish with 17 points and 5 rebounds.
