Washington, D.C. — After starting just 2-14 from the field, Georgetown (6-4) recovered to ease away from Coppin State (1-11) for a 71-54 win at a mostly empty Capital One Arena Tuesday night.
After a shaky start marred by poor offense from both teams, freshman guard Rowan Brumbaugh finished a layup in transition to give Georgetown an 8-7 lead it never relinquished.
The visiting Eagles had just six made field goals in the first half on 26 attempts (23%). Despite an improved performance in the second half and an overall 23-59 shooting night, the visitors couldn’t do enough to make the game close.
The Hoyas struggled early without star point guard Jayden Epps, who did not play due to an illness. The Illinois transfer is averaging 18.9 points per game this season for Georgetown. Georgetown Head Coach Ed Cooley was noncommittal on Epps’ status for Georgetown’s next outing Saturday at Notre Dame.
The hosts were led by junior Dontrez Styles, who led all scorers with 19 points. Brumbaugh added 14 points, while senior center Supreme Cook finished just short of a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds. Coppin St. was led by senior forward Justin Winston, who had an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double.
After shooting just 3-11 from beyond the arc in the first half, Georgetown caught fire from deep to open the second, with Styles and grad transfer forward Ismael Massoud each connecting twice in the first four minutes of the second period. Massoud added nine points for the Hoyas, but did so on just 3-13 shooting, including an 0-6 night on two-point shots.
Despite the win, Cooley was quick to outline areas in need of improvement for the Hoyas. Cooley said after the game, “We have a lot of flaws that we have to clean up: our physicality defensively, our communication… we have to have high alert and high attention to detail coming out of timeouts.”
Brumbaugh followed up a four-steal performance Saturday vs. Syracuse with five more steals against the Eagles, a new career high. The Washington, D.C. native credited the team’s preparation and said, “Everything just fell into place.”
The win against the Eagles completes Georgetown’s home non-conference schedule. Saturday’s contest in South Bend against Notre Dame will be the final non-league game of the Hoyas’ season. Tip-off is slated for 2:15 p.m.
