WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University men's basketball team closes out the nonconference schedule on Saturday, hosting the Howard University Bison at Capital One Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for noon at GU's downtown home.
Saturday's game can be seen live on FS1 with Dave Sims calling the play-by-play and Tarik Turner providing analysis. The game can be heard locally on The Team 980 with Rich Chvotkin calling the game.
The Hoyas are currently 9-3 on the season following a 102-94 overtime victory over the visiting Little Rock Trojans on Saturday. The freshman duo of
Mac McClung (Gate City, Va. / Gate City) and
James Akinjo (Oakland, Calif. / Salesian College Preparatory) combined for 63 of GU's points on Saturday with McClung pouring in 38 and Akinjo chipping in 25, both career bests. McClung drained four 3-pointers and added 14 points from the charity stripe while Akinjo tallied a trio of triples. Seniors
Jessie Govan (Queens Village, N.Y. / Wings Academy) and
Kaleb Johnson (South Hill, Va. / The Carlisle School) chipped in 12 apiece to round out those in double figures. Freshman
Josh LeBlanc (Baton Rouge, La. / Madison College Preparatory) and Johnson each pulled down nine rebounds to lead the squad. Akinjo paced the offense with seven assists. Georgetown shot 40.5 percent (30 of 74) from the field and outrebounded the Trojans 43-40. The GU bench outscored Little Rock 23-17.
For his efforts, McClung was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on Dec. 23 following a 2-0 week for the Hoyas where he averaged 29.5 mpg, 26.0 ppg, 2.0 apg and 1.5 rpg in the two contests. It was the second time this season a Hoya freshman had collected the honor as Akinjo earned the accolade on Nov. 19.
Govan leads a trio of Hoyas in double figures averaging 17.9 ppg. Akinjo and McClung round out those in double figures averaging 14.6 ppg and 12.3 ppg, respectively. LeBlanc leads the team on the glass as he averages 7.8 rpg followed by Govan (7.3). Akinjo's 46 assists is a squad best and at trio of Hoyas have tallied double-digit blocks this season in LeBlanc (14), Govan (12) and
Jamorko Pickett (Washington, D.C. / Massanutten Military Academy [Va.]) (12). Govan's 55.4 field goal percentage ranks second in the BIG EAST and his three double-doubles so far this season is second-best in the league. The Blue & Gray is shooting 45.0 percent (326 of 724) on the season.
Howard enters Saturday's game with a 6-7 record following an 89-82 loss to Hampton last Saturday as part of the DC Holiday Hoopsfest at the Entertainment & Sports Arena. HU's RJ Cole led the squad with 29 points but the Bison could not hold on as Hampton staged a second-half comeback for the win. Cole leads a quartet in double figures for the season as he averages 20.5 ppg followed by Charles Williams (18.3), Chad Lott (14.2) and Raymond Bethea Jr. (14.0). Zion Cousins leads the team on the glass with 7.7 rpg. The team is shooting 43.4 percent (375 for 865) on the year.
This is the 10th matchup between the Hoyas and Bison with the Blue & Gray leading the series 9-0 Georgetown has an overall 60-0 record against opponents from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), including a victory over Maryland Eastern Shore to open the 2018-19 campaign.
Following Saturday's contest, Georgetown will hit the road to open BIG EAST Conference play, visiting Butler on Wednesday, Jan. 2. Tipoff at Hinkle Fieldhouse is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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For tickets, please visit WeAreGeorgetown.com or contact the Georgetown Athletic Ticket Office at 202.687.HOYA (4692) or hoyatickets@georgetown.edu.
