Georgetown looks to avenge rare loss to American

Field Level Media|published: Sat 18th November, 21:08 2023

Nov 15, 2023; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Georgetown Hoyas guard Dontrez Styles (0) drives to the basket against Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Gavin Griffiths (10) and forward Antwone Woolfolk (13) during the first half at Jersey Mike's Arena. credits: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

American University will be hoping recent history repeats itself when the Eagles visit the Georgetown Hoyas on Sunday in Washington, D.C.

The Eagles got their first win against the Hoyas since 1982 on Nov. 23, 2022, beating host Georgetown 74-70.

Thinking about that game could keep the Hoyas from enjoying Saturday's 83-72 win over Mount St. Mary's for very long.

Dontrez Styles scored a career-high 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting, and Jay Heath and Supreme Cook each scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Hoyas (2-2).

Georgetown led by double digits for most of the game and withstood a late rally by Mount St. Mary's despite committing 20 turnovers.

"I loved the way we got out the gate," Hoyas coach Ed Cooley said. "I thought that really set the tone for the rest of the game. Obviously, we got to do a better job taking care of the ball ... that is something that we will address."

Now the Hoyas will look to avenge last year's loss to the Eagles a little over 24 hours later.

"The philosophy behind the back-to-back games was to prepare our men for the Big East tournament and postseason play," Cooley said.

American (2-2) is coming off consecutive home wins against Siena and NJIT.

Matt Rogers totaled 28 points and 11 rebounds as American took control late in the first half and rolled to an 87-73 win over the visiting Highlanders on Thursday.

Elijah Stephens chipped in 11 points and a game-high eight assists, and Colin Smalls scored 11 points as five Eagles finished in double figures.

"I thought we did a really good job of sharing the basketball. Twenty-one assists on 29 field goals is really, really good," Eagles coach Duane Simpkins said. "This is one of the best teams I've been a part of to share the basketball during the game. And we made some shots."

Georgetown records have the all-time series at 47-9, while American has the Hoyas with a 45-10 advantage. Georgetown had won 11 straight against AU until last season.

—Field Level Media