Georgetown gaining confidence but wary of Jackson State

Field Level Media|published: Fri 24th November, 10:50 2023

Nov 19, 2023; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Jackson State Tigers head coach Mo Williams talks to players in a time out against the Missouri Tigers during the first half at Mizzou Arena. credits: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Jackson State proved with its win at Missouri last Sunday that opponents can't take the young Tigers lightly.

The same day, Georgetown strengthened first-year coach Ed Cooley's belief that his team's culture is blossoming after the Hoyas churned out a gritty overtime victory over American.

Both teams will aim to build on signature early-season wins when Jackson State (1-5) visits Georgetown (3-2) on Saturday in Washington, D.C.

Jackson State entered Mizzou Arena as a 22 1/2-point underdog but outscored Missouri 26-17 in points off turnovers and never fell behind by more than eight.

Jackson State trailed 72-71 in the closing moments before Chase Adams hit the game-winning turnaround fadeaway with five seconds left to secure the Tigers' first victory over an SEC opponent since 1995.

Sunday's 73-72 win was long overdue for Jackson State, which had lost the first five contests of its nine-game road trip to begin the season. Its first home game is on Jan. 6.

"That win will bode well for us down the stretch," said coach Mo Williams, per The Clarion-Ledger. "... Our morale, our guys, we needed that. ... This is what we live for."

After losing to Holy Cross on Nov. 11, the Hoyas were in danger of suffering their second home defeat to a Patriot League opponent in eight days on Sunday when they fell behind American 65-55 with under five minutes left.

However, Jayden Epps scored Georgetown's final 14 points in regulation, including the game-tying 3-pointer with five seconds remaining, to help the Hoyas force overtime. Epps went scoreless in the extra period but still finished with a career-high 31 points as Georgetown outlasted the Eagles 88-83.

Cooley viewed Sunday's result as a character-building win for a program attempting to regain prominence after six underwhelming seasons under former coach Patrick Ewing.

"It was one of the first times we've won here in respect to instilling a culture of resilience, togetherness, unselfishness — of complete buy-in and trust of what we are trying to instill in our men," Cooley said.

Dontrez Styles leads the Hoyas with 17.0 points per game, while Ken Evans Jr. paces Jackson State with 18.5 points per contest.

—Field Level Media