By Daniel Whitehead
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Click here to see more photos of BYU”s win over Georgetown College
The Georgetown College Tigers stuck around for the first 20 minutes of play but couldn”t keep up as the Cougars pulled away in the second half on their way to an 80-53 victory.
BYU shot 54 percent from the field, compared to Georgetown”s 38, and finished at 11-for-23 (48 percent) from the new NCAA 3-point line. Sophomore guard Jackson Emery led all scorers with 16 points, while junior team captain Jonathan Tavernari poured in 15 and Charles Abouo and Lee Cummard contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Vincent Crutcher, Demetrius Guions and Cheyenne Moore led the Tigers with 10 points apiece.
Emery, who did not play in the first exhibition game against Concordia, got things going for the Cougars by hitting a three.
“We are deep in the guard spot and every position this year,” Emery said. “I knew my role was defense as a freshman. This year, I can do both and be more aggressive.”
Center Chris Miles then got an offensive rebound to put in a layup before Lamont Morgan hit a trey. Tavernari came into the spotlight by making an early three, forcing the Tigers to take a timeout with a 13-5 Cougar lead.
Both teams committed several turnovers midway through the first half, but team captain Cummard kept the momentum for the Cougars by making key shots, with Abouo and Noah Hartsock pitching in a few jumpers.
The Cougars utilized nice ball movement to get the ball inside to Miles and Tavernari. On one occasion, Miles saved a ball from going out of bounds to Tavernari, who made a fancy spin move for an easy bucket.
“I think Chris is doing a nice job for us,” BYU coach Dave Rose said. “He”s learning to space properly and he”s not afraid to bang out there. We want him to average a double-double for us every night.”
After another forced timeout, Abouo put the crowd on its feet with a monster dunk. Freshman James Anderson tipped in an errant layup before Cummard put the Tigers in a deep 43-27 deficit going into halftime with a trey.
A tough BYU defense held Georgetown to 31 percent shooting as the Tigers converted a scant 9-of-29 shots in the first half. Cheyenne Moore and Jerry Turner kept Georgetown within reasonable distance, scoring 7 and 6 points, respectively.
The Cougars shot 51 percent from the field on 17-of-33 shooting in the first 20 minutes. Cummard and Tavernari led the Cougars with 10 points apiece as the team shot 6-of-13 from 3-point range.
The Cougars came out sloppy in the second half, committing consecutive turnovers and making Rose a bit anxious. Tavernari and Lamont Morgan combined to ease the tension with a steal and layup from Tavernari and a trey by Morgan.
Emery came alive midway through the second half by converting a 3-pointer and a steal for a breakaway layup. He didn”t cool off as he hit another trey after a Tiger timeout.
Multiple timeouts by Georgetown head coach Happy Osborne failed to energize the restless Tigers, as the Cougars solidified an easy victory with a big dunk by senior Gavin MacGregor and a round of layups by Abouo.
Freshman Matt Pinegar got into the 3-point scene with his own trey, followed by easy layups by Abouo and Emery.
Coach Rose was pleased with his team”s performance.
“I thought our point guards and our centers stepped up tonight,” he said. “Lamont and Jackson did a fine job with the pressure and Miles improved to play with energy and provide the team with a boost.”
