NFL
By: Joe Cardoso
The Georgetown Hoyas head into Big East conference play January 2nd at Butler and have one final tune-up game on Saturday vs Howard University. This past Saturday they faced off against the former Washington Bullet led Arkansas Little Rock Trojans. The game some thought would be a walk in the park for the young Hoyas got a shock as it took overtime for the Hoyas to grab the win. It was an exciting contest as both teams had their share of ankle breaking drives and nasty dunks. For Georgetown, it was the freshmen once again who stole the show. Mac McClung And James Akinjo combined for 63 points and Kaleb Johnson was a huge spark off the bench making plays that don’t show up in the stat sheet. No one is calling him Steph Curry but McClung showed a bit of range on an improving jump shot which bolds well for the team moving forward. Not to be forgotten Jessie Govan chipped in 12 before fouling out.
An area of concern for the squad has been the turnovers and G’Town had 19 of them something coach Ewing talked about and will keep hammering home all season. The defensive side of the floor lacked a bit allowing the Trojans to shoot 50% for the game but the first half both teams had free shots and drives defense was a four-letter word. 14 ties and 11 lead changes no one was too surprised by a banked in 3 pointer to force OT it was just that type of game. The Hoyas played without Trey Mourning who was in concussion protocol and looks to hit the floor this week.
This contest against Howard is the final tuneup before the REAL regulation season begins and they face a whole new level of competition at home and on the road. I’m very intrigued to see how both freshmen come out vs Howard coming off their huge games. Also would like to see a stronger start on the defensive side of the ball and the never-ending turnover struggles improve. The most important thing is to end the game healthy. Howard is 6-7 and losers of 4 straight games four players average double figures lead by RJ Cole. Thinking this should be a walk in the park like some thought last week will be a mistake.
Rotations should get finalized and players have a shot to earn more playing time. That’s just some of what to look for on Saturday because soon it will be 2019 and the fun and fight known as Big East play begins. Follow our blog @NutsAndBoltsSports and me @JoeCardoso301 HOYA
