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Lafayette-Georgetown Preview

Nov 27, 2009 - 7:23 PM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Lafayette (4-1) at Georgetown (3-0), 12:00 p.m. EDT

Georgetown bounced back nicely after a poor home opener. Now, coach John Thompson III gets to see how his team responds following a long gap between games.

In their first contest in a week, the 18th-ranked Hoyas look to post a second straight dominant performance as they host Lafayette on Saturday.

Though it is undefeated and playing outstanding defense, Georgetown (3-0) had a tough time in its first home game, getting the go-ahead basket from Greg Monroe with 6.5 seconds to play in a 46-45 win over Temple on Nov. 17. The Hoyas shot 35.7 percent and had more turnovers (16) than baskets (15).

In its next game, Georgetown shot 53.8 percent (7 for 13) from 3-point range and 53.1 overall (26 for 49) in a 63-44 victory at Savannah State last Saturday.

The Hoyas, though, hope they've remained sharp during a weeklong break. Jason Clark, in particular, is expected to show continued development.

The sophomore guard had a career-high 14 points last weekend after being held to eight against the Owls.

"The number of points Jason scores is irrelevant," Thompson said. "He plays great defense and he's a very unselfish player. He's at the core of what we're doing this year. He's going to have a lot more than 14 as we go along."

Clark posted 5.2 points per game as a freshman reserve, but he's one of four players scoring in double figures. He's averaging 11.7 points and shooting 50.0 percent (9 for 18) from beyond the arc.

Monroe, another sophomore, leads the Hoyas with 14.0 points and 9.0 rebounds a contest. The 6-foot-11 center has had a strong start after being named Big East rookie of the year.

Monroe is averaging 1.4 blocks and 1.8 steals in his career and is a big part of a defense that has held opponents to 49.0 points per game, 18.2 percent shooting from 3-point range and 33.3 percent shooting overall.

Lafayette (4-1) is averaging 78.8 points while shooting 51.5 percent. The Leopards are coming off their best shooting performance of the season, making 61.4 percent of their attempts in an 86-82 win over Hartford on Tuesday night.

Another poor effort defensively, though, almost left Lafayette with a loss. The Leopards led by as many as 22 in the first half but surrendered 51 second-half points.

Lafayette has surrendered an average of 72.8 points.

Jared Mintz leads a Leopards team that has four players averaging double figures in scoring, posting 18.6 points to go with 7.2 rebounds per game.

Lafayette likely needs another big performance from Mintz to have any chance of beating a Top 25 team for the first time since defeating then-No. 6 Rutgers 77-70 on Dec. 2, 1978.

The Hoyas are 8-5 against the Leopards, winning 65-60 in the last meeting Dec. 26, 1979.