After winning their final two games at the Maui Invitational, the Georgetown Hoyas returned to the Verizon Center on Monday night to face the Jaguars of IUPUI. What Hoya fans may have expected to be non-conference walkover was anything but in the first half. The Jaguars hung with the Hoyas through the first twenty minutes, led by small forward Alex Young, a Big East caliber talent. Young poured in 16 points in the first half, hitting two threes and getting into the lane and to the free throw line on a consistent basis.
It would be a different story in the second half, however, for Young and his Jaguar team. The Hoya defense would clamp down and hold him scoreless in the second twenty minutes. Georgetown's team defense ramped up the pressure, forcing IUPUI to shoot just 36 percent from the field.
On offense, the Hoyas were led by Hollis Thompson who scored 21 points on nine of 15 from the floor. Thompson has been huge for the Hoyas here in the early season, providing a consistent veteran scoring threat. Henry Sims and Markel Starks combined to fill in and pick up for Jason Clark, who had a poor shooting night. Clark missed all of his three point attempts and scored only nine points but the inside-outside combination of Starks and Sims combined for 25. Their efforts, along with Thompson, led to a 49 point second half and extended a one point halftime lead into a 23 point win to improve the Hoyas record to 5-1.