WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University men's basketball team picked up its first win of the season behind a 14-point, 10-rebound performance from freshman guard Aminu Mohammed as the Hoyas downed the American University Eagles, 79-57, at Capital One Arena on Tuesday evening. With the win, the Hoyas improve to 1-1 on the season while AU slips to 2-1 on the young season.
 
ON THE RECORD
"It was a total team effort. I thought that Tyler Beard, Jordan Riley, Ryan Mutombo when he was in there, Malcolm - all those guys did a great job of helping us to go on that run. They were making shots, they were also doing a great job on the defensive end, got a couple of steals and also dropping it off to the bigs." - Head Coach Patrick Ewing on his bench production
 
"I've got a great group of guys around me. Nobody is trying to say 'It's got to be me' - we all like each other, we all encourage each other. That's what we do - push each other every time in practice. Preseason, not preseason - the goal is all about the team. Whatever it is, we have to do a better job. If your number is called, you have to step up. That's just how it is." - Freshman guard Aminu Mohammed on the freshman class mentality
 
HOYA HIGHLIGHTS

• Three players finished in double figures as Aminu Mohammed registered his first career double-double by tallying a game-high 14 points with 10 rebounds and a pair of rejections.
• Dante Harris recorded 13 points to go along with four assists and four boards.
• Donald Carey rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor and added a contest-leading six assists.
• Timothy Ighoefe made his season debut, grabbing a game-high 11 boards to go along with six points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting.
• Freshmen Tyler Beard, Jalin Billingsley and Jordan Riley tallied eight points apiece while combining for 10 rebounds.
• The Hoyas outrebounded the Eagles, 50-31, while racking up 15 boards on the offensive side.
• Georgetown shot 44.4 percent (28-of-63) from the floor while its bench produced 32 points to AU's 22.
• The Blue & Gray managed five blocks on the night to the Eagles' two.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Carey opened the scoring on a layup down the lane after Dante Harris forced a turnover at midcourt.
• Following a 4-1 run by American, Mohammed drained a shot from behind the arc to jump start a 5-0 run by the Hoyas.
• Both teams exchanged buckets through the middle portion of the first half with the Blue & Gray holding a 21-16 edge (7:52).
• With 6:19 remaining, Harris drove to his left and slid a pass down low to Ighoefe who slammed home an emphatic dunk to push the Georgetown lead to five, 27-22.
• A Mohammed block propelled the Hoyas up the court and Harris finished with a layup to put Georgetown ahead by five, 29-24.
• Ewing's squad closed out the half on a 9-4 run to put the Hoyas ahead 38-29 at the half. Mohammed led all scorers at the break with 10 points, followed by Harris with nine.
• Georgetown and American exchanged points through the first five minutes of the second half with the Eagles pulling to within three, 44-41.
• With 13:20 left, the Hoyas stepped on the gas pedal, scoring 18 unanswered points over four minutes, forcing American to take a trio of timeouts and putting the home squad up, 71-45.
• Georgetown continued to match what American put forth in the final minutes of the game and secured its first win, 79-57.

 
OF NOTE

• Timothy Ighoefe tallied seven rebounds in the first half, the most in a regular season contest since Jamorko Pickett tallied seven in the opening frame against Creighton on Feb. 9, 2021.
• Ighoefe finished the game with a career-high 11 boards, surpassing his previous mark of seven recorded on three different occasions.
• With 40 points in the paint against the Eagles, Georgetown matched its season-high from the 2020-21 campaign set against UBMC on Nov. 25, 2020.
• The team's 30 rebounds in the first half were the most in the opening frame since the Hoyas pulled in 30 against Marquette in the BIG EAST Tournament on March 10, 2021.

 
UP NEXT
Georgetown concludes its three-game home slate with a contest against Siena at Capital One Arena on Friday, November 16. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and the game can be seen live on FS2.
 
 
- 1789 -
hoyasaxa