Bison face tall task in bout with 18th-ranked Hoyas

Dec 10, 2011 - 3:46 PM Washington, D.C. (Sports Network) - The 18th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas are set for what appears to be a lopsided non-conference matchup with the Howard Bison.

Howard enters this game with a 3-5 overall record, and the team is just 1-5 in true road games. On a positive note, the Bison were able to halt a two-game slide with a 72-65 victory over Delaware State on Tuesday. Howard is a member of the MEAC and has yet to play a league game.

Georgetown continues to prepare for the start of the Big East slate which will present significant challenges on a per game basis. The Hoyas have won their last five outings to move to 7-1 overall, as the lone defeat this season came against Kansas on a neutral court. The club has been idle since last Saturday when it crushed NJIT in an 84-44 final.

The Hoyas have won all six previous meetings with the Bison, the most recent of which took place during the 2004-05 campaign.

Prince Okoroh was the hero for Howard in the seven-point win over Delaware State, as he scored 18 of his career-high 21 points in the second half. Just a freshman, Okoroh hit 9-of-11 shots from the floor to pace four double-digit scorers. Mike Phillips netted 12 of his 14 points in that decisive second stanza, and center Alphonso Leary registered a season-best 15 points. Overall this season, the Bison are scoring a modest 63.0 ppg while allowing 65.5 ppg to opponents. Calvin Thompson is the only double-digit scorer on the roster with 11.3 ppg, though he did miss the last game against Delaware State. That opened the door for the big performance from Okoroh, and it will be interesting to see if the rookie can establish himself as a go-to guy at the offensive end of the court moving forward.

Jason Clark is the top performer for Georgetown, as he is netting 16.8 ppg on 50 percent shooting from the floor, including 43.5 percent efficiency from three-point range. Hollis Thompson (15.0 ppg) has shot the ball even better, hitting 56.8 percent from the floor and a blistering 58.8 percent from behind the arc. As for Henry Sims (12.8 ppg), the third and final double-digit scorer on the roster, he is connecting on 58.2 percent of his field goal attempts for the Hoyas, who are generating 79.1 ppg. Defensively, they are holding foes to 59.0 ppg on 38.7 percent shooting, and a positive rebounding differential of 7.3 rpg has certainly helped the cause. In the 40-point win over NJIT, Thompson nailed 6-of-7 three-pointers en route to a game-high 20 points. The Hoyas shot 50 percent from the floor in that affair and limited their overmatched opponent to 27.3 percent. Advantages in rebounding (47-22) and points from the foul line (18-9) certainly helped the cause.