Washington, DC (Sports Network) - The 15th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas look to
continue their winning ways as they host the Towson Tigers for non-conference
action at the Verizon Center.
The Tigers ended a two-game losing slide on Wednesday with a 68-64 road
victory over Vermont. The decision evened the team's record up at 4-4, which
gives Towson three mores wins than it achieved all of last season. Coach Pat
Skerry guided his squad to wins over Radford, Kennshaw State, and Cincinnati
Christian and came up just short of two more decisions in contests versus
Eastern Kentucky (71-69 OT) and UMBC (66-62). The Tigers have the Colonial
Athletic Association's second ranked scoring offense (66.6 ppg) and second
ranked scoring defense (63.9 ppg).
John Thompson III's Hoyas reeled off their third win in a row on Tuesday by
completing a 64-41 rout Texas. Georgetown began the year with wins of
Duquesne, Liberty, and UCLA before enduring an overtime loss to No. 1 Indiana.
The Hoyas then bounced back with victories over Mount St. Mary and Tennessee
before taking down the struggling Longhorns. Georgetown is one of only four
teams at the Division I level with no seniors on the roster. The Hoyas are
tied for third in the Big East in scoring defense (56.1 points per game) and
fourth in field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to 37.5 percent
shooting from the floor.
This will be the fourth all-time meeting between the programs, with Georgetown
holding a 3-0 advantage in the series. The Hoyas won the last meeting, 69-41,
at Verizon Center during the 2006-07 season.
Towson looked to be in trouble at Vermont as it trailed the Catamounts by six
points with 12 minutes left in the contest. However, the Tigers outscored
their does 18-8 in the paint in the second half to secure the win. Junior
forward Jerrelle Benimon, who transferred from Georgetown after the 2010-11
season, led the way with a career-high 29 points and 10 rebounds. The power
forward has assumed the role of go-to-guy in Skerry's system with four double-
doubles and averages of 16.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per contest.
Mike Burwell, Jerome Hairston, and Marcus Damas are combing for 28.3 ppg,
while center Bilal Dixon helps on the glass with 6.8 boards per contest.
Georgetown used stifling defense to shutdown Texas its last time out. The
Longhorns looked stagnant on offense for the duration of the contest and
managed to convert only 29.2 percent of their field goal attempts. The Hoyas
shot 41 percent from the field as sophomore forward Otto Porter paced the team
with 14 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks. Junior forward Nate Lubick
added 13 points and guard Markel Starks chipped in 11 points and four assists.
Four different Georgetown players are carrying double-digit scoring averages,
with sophomore forward Greg Whittington at the head of the class with 12.7
ppg. Starks (12.3 ppg), Porter (11.6 ppg), and Mikael Hopkins (10.7 ppg) are
all regular contributors on the offensive end as well.
The Sports Network