Welcome back! Your Georgetown Hoyas kicked off the 2024-2025 season with an 85-77 win over the Lehigh Mountain Hawks tonight in front of a sellout, student-filled crowd at historic McDonough Gymnasium.

Micah Peavy shared the lead among Hoyas scorers with 20 points and 3 steals, a strong showing for the promising transfer, while fellow freshman Malik Mack dropped 15 points of his own and plus 5 assists. Thomas Sorber was assertive from deep and posted a double-double in his collegiate debut, contributing an impressive 20 points and 13 rebounds. Standout returner Jayden Epps scored 17 points with three assists and a steal.

Lehigh already had one game under their belt when they headed to DC; They received a decisive blow from Northwestern just two days ago. In recent years, when a basketball season has begun with fear and/or horror, this contest was a welcome change for Hoyas fans (at least after the first few minutes). Our collective hope was that Coach Cooley would take all games seriously and prepare the team accordingly, and in one game they delivered.

Things started quickly, with few whistles and a surprising number of throws from both teams. In Georgetown, all starters as well as Curtis Williams and Julius Halaifonua were on the U8's scorer list. On the other hand – and stop me if you've heard this before – Lehigh opened with a 5-5 duel from beyond the arc, with almost all of the offense coming from Gillus and Higgins Jr.

Peavy tied it at 33 with just under 6 minutes to play, but the Mountain Hawks responded immediately. Cooley decided to play a lineup with Sorber and Halaifonua, the two freshman big men who complemented each other better than I would have expected and were successful in making contact in the paint.

While the Hoyas were far from pulling off a fearsome setback, they trailed Lehigh by just one basket throughout. It wasn't until 2:00 that a driving layup from Peavy put them on top for the first time since the first basket.

The McDonough crowd was desperate to erupt when Williams attempted an open three-pointer on the next position after Peavy's steal, but it wouldn't work. The TCU transfer did it himself on the next drive down the court, driving up the baseline and redirecting the ball inward off the glass. Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, and Peavy does it again on the ensuing possession, extending Georgetown's lead to 5 with under a minute left in the half. Halaifonua's big block ensured the Hoyas' 10-0 run continued uninterrupted and the home team took a 44-39 lead into the break.

The game was a little less crisp after the break, but fortunately for Georgetown, the same was true for their opponents, allowing the Hoyas to take a 4-point lead into the U16. The cooperative defense of Williams and Jordan Burks resulted in a smooth transition attempt, and Ed Cooley was outraged when Williams was whistled for the offensive foul.

Lehigh's 7-0 run was cut short by a clean shot from long range by Epps. The Mountain Hawks briefly regained a 1-point lead on a Whitney-Sidney three-pointer, but Epps' three-pointer on the next play brought the Hoyas back to within two points. Georgetown remained ahead 56-54 at the next media break and never opened the door again.

It was Drew Fielder under the basket who caused the disturbance, allowing second, third and fourth attempts on the next possession until Sorber finally connected, scoring the basket and the foul to bring the Hoyas within five. Minutes later, the biggest scare of the game came when Sorber slipped out of his shoe and strangely fell while being fouled. He stood up very carefully, marched off, made both free throws and then went straight to the bench.

Mack had primarily helped facilitate the offense and provide assists early in the game, but he made five shots in the final minutes as his teammates struggled to put the ball under the net. Sorber appeared unaffected by the earlier fall, regularly grabbing rebounds, hitting from the stripe and providing an effective paint presence.

Mack gave the Hoyas a 79-68 lead shortly after the U4, taking advantage of a more than four-minute field goal drought for Lehigh. Jordan Burks got on the board with a putback of an Epps miss, extending the lead to 13 with 1:23 to play.

Ultimately, Georgetown ended the night with an 85-77 win. There is a lot to learn and improve over the course of the season, but also a solid foundation of elements to praise. This group has some talent and it's a nice change to be optimistic and see what they do with it.

The Hoyas next host a game against Fairfield on Saturday afternoon, November 9th at 4 p.m. This will be shown on Capital One and will air on FS2.

Your Georgetown Hoyas are undefeated. Enjoy it.