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TORONTO – In the first of a quartet of games representing the United States at GLOBL JAM, the Georgetown University men’s basketball team defeated Japan 88-53 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Wednesday afternoon in Toronto, Ontario. With the win, the Hoyas improve to 1-0 in the round robin portion of the four-team international competition.
ON THE RECORD
“I thought many people contributed. I thought we were very unselfish with the ball. I thought we contributed to success by sharing the ball, getting excited if another player scored. Multiple contributors – DeShawn (Harris-Smith) played great – we played him all over the floor … I think he’s a positionless player. What he brings defensively is something that mimics a lot of what we had with (Micah) Peavy last year, so, I’m looking forward to seeing how it translates as you know we’ve got a very, very tough game tomorrow – a road game – against Team Canada.” – Head Coach Ed Cooley
“Every game, I just try to go out there and play as hard as I can and that results in a stat line like that. Like Coach said, I can play positionless basketball so I’m going to go grab a lot of rebounds, get my teammates the ball – I didn’t feel like it was like I was trying to do that – I was just going out there, playing my game.” – DeShawn Harris-Smith
HOYA HIGHLIGHTS
DeShawn Harris-Smith led a quintet of Hoyas in double figures with 19 points. He tallied a double-double with a squad-best 11 rebounds and was a pair of assists shy of a triple double as he paced the offense with eight dimes. Harris-Smith shot an efficient 72.7% from the field on 8-for-11 shooting.
Julius Halaifonua added 14.4 points on an impressive 83.3% (5-6) performance from the field while draining a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
Vince Iwuchukwu chipped in 11 points while grabbing six boards and recording a squad-best two blocks.
Isaiah Abraham and Jayden Fort each tallied 10 points to round out those in double figures. Abraham went 4-for-5 from the floor while Fort came off the bench and put together a 5-for-6 performance on the day.
Jeremiah Williams tallied nine points while his four steals led the Hoyas.
Georgetown shot 55.4% (36-65) from the floor and 31.6% (6-19) from deep.
GU forced 17 Japan turnovers, but committed 13 of its own.
The Hoyas outrebounded Japan 42-31.
JAPAN HIGHLIGHTS
Ryosei Sato and Yuto Kawashima led Japan with nine points apiece as all but two players who got in the game scored points.
Coming off the bench, Koki Hirose’s three rebounds led Japan on the glass.
Shawn Marion Williams paced the offense with four assists.
Japan shot 30.2% (19-63) for the game and made nine 3-pointers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Georgetown jumped out to a quick 9-3 lead bolstered by six points from Jalaifonua along with a Caleb Williams triple. After Japan knocked down another triple, GU responded with seven unanswered.
Japan strung together five of its own to cut the lead to five but the Hoyas used a 14-3 run to close the first quarter fueled by seven from Harris-Smith to take the 28-14 lead after 10 minutes of action.
A Fort dunk started the second half for the Blue & Gray but Japan’s Troy Murphy Jr. answered with a bucket on the other end. Those would be the last points for Japan for the next 4:30 as the Hoyas held Japan scoreless while putting together a 9-0 run to take a 39-16 lead.
The Hoyas went into the locker room with a commanding 52-25 lead at halftime.
Georgetown opened the third quarter on a 14-0 tear before Japan knocked down a pair of free throws to stop the run. With more trips to the line, Japan started to pile in the points in the latter part of the frame. However, GU led 74-35 after three quarters.
The fourth quarter was Japan’s turn to have a hot start as back-to-back 3-pointers fueled a 10-3 run to start the stanza. However, it would not be enough as Georgetown cruised to the 88-53 win at the final whistle.
UP NEXT
Georgetown returns to action on Thursday, August 14 as the Hoyas face host Canada in the round robin stage. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPN+ in the United States and SportsNet in Canada with Tim Micallef calling the play-by-play and Paul Jones providing analysis.
AloJapan.com