Aminu Mohammed had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Georgetown pulled away from visiting American in the second half for a 79-57 win Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
Dante Harris scored 13 points and Donald Carey added 12 points for the defending Big East Tournament champion Hoyas (1-1), who lost their opener to Dartmouth 69-60 on Saturday.
American’s Stacy Beckton Jr., the Patriot League Player of the Week, led all scorers with 16 points.
American (2-1) was 2-0 for the first time since starting 5-0 during the 2010-11 season after a 74-62 win against William & Mary on Friday.
Georgetown center Timothy Ighoefe, who missed the Hoyas’ opener after suffering a concussion in practice last week, had six points and 11 rebounds in 21 minutes.
Georgetown shot 44.4 percent from the field and American was held to 34.4 percent.
The Hoyas outrebounded the American 50-31 and scored 19 points off 15 Eagle turnovers.
American was looking for its first win over Georgetown since 1982. The Hoyas lead the all-time series 45-10.
The Hoyas led by nine at intermission, but Beckton’s 3-pointer pulled the Eagles within 43-39 with 16:15 remaining.
With Georgetown leading 47-43, Ighoefe’s dunk ignited a 6-0 run and the Hoyas led 53-43 with 12:18 remaining. The lead increased to 16 moments later when Tyler Beard his a trey from the top of the key and Jordan Riley added a fast-break layup.
The Hoyas’ run eventually reached 18-0 as lead grew to 71-45 on Beard’s layup with 7:06 remaining.
The Hoyas led 14-9 after two free throws by Dante Harris at 13:05.
American got within 23-22 on Johnny O’Neil’s 3-pointer, but the Hoyas soon pushed the lead back to five.
The Hoyas led 29-25 when they reeled off nine straight points, capped by Mohammed’s second-chance layup, and Georgetown led 38-29 at intermission.
The Hoyas shot 37.5 percent (12-of-32) in the half, while the Eagles managed just 28.1 percent (9-of-32). Both teams were 2-of-11 from long range.
Mohammed led all scorers with 10 first-half points.
Georgetown outrebounded American 30-17 and dominated second-chance points 13-0.
–Field Level Media
