Story By: Sol Tucker
Photos By: Sol Tucker
Washington, D.C–
In a game where the Hoyas played without Head Coach Ed Cooley, who was serving a one game suspension for throwing a water bottle that hit a kid in the stands against Xavier, his team seemed to be operating on all cylinders without him in a 97-67 victory at McDonough Arena.
It was clear within the first few minutes of this game that this was the tale of two teams going in different directions. Coppin State would have trouble defeating some of the best High School teams in the area and the Hoyas with Ed Cooley seem to finally be going in the right direction.
Georgetown got another big game from Julius Halaifonua who led the way with 20 points. Halaifonua who has been carrying the load as the big man on the team since Vince Iwuchukwu went down with health issues. His return is still up in the air for the season, so Cooley will most likely have to go most of the way without a second big in the middle.
Isaiah Abraham scored 17 points and added three steals. KJ Lewis finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, and three steals.
One of the big differences we can see so far this season and early in tonight’s game was the Hoyas ability to move the ball around and find open shots. They have struggled to do that in previous seasons and relied on a lot of one player to carry the load which in tough Big East competition has been the downfall of this squad.
Khali Horton led the way for the Eagles (2-14) with 18 points and two steals. Coppin State also got 13 points and three blocks from Jamari Piercy. Tyler Koenig had 10 points. The loss was the Eagles’ seventh straight.
The Hoyas will have a few days off to relax and focus on the biggest match-up so far this season with a New Years Eve match-up against St. Johns. This will really give us a look at what this Hoyas team is made of and how much they can handle going deep into the conference schedule. While the Johnnies are unranked, the Hoyas have had their share of trouble over the past couple of seasons. Can their fortune change going into the New Year? Let’s hope so and they are ready for the ride that the next few weeks brings.
