Georgetown gets back on track with an 80-48 victory over Coppin State

“We really focused on coming out today and getting that win,” senior guard Jahvon Blair said. “All we cared about was winning, and that was it. Whatever it took for us to win, we just wanted to do that. …

“Coming back from the other game, Coach really was on us about playing hard the whole 40. Today we just made sure we came out with the same energy for the whole 40 minutes.”

Blair scored a game-high 22 points, and fellow senior Jamorko Pickett added 19 points and a career-high 18 rebounds for the Hoyas (2-2). Forward Chudier Bile, a graduate transfer, had 13 points and eight rebounds.

Koby Thomas had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Coppin State (0-4). Chereef Knox added 12 points.

Georgetown took a 38-23 lead into halftime, but the Hoyas didn’t look smooth getting there. Coach Patrick Ewing has repeatedly voiced his frustration with turnovers, and the first half produced more of the same. The Hoyas trailed 18-15 about 11 minutes in and at one point had more turnovers (10) than field goals (eight). Coppin State employed a zone defense early that seemed to neutralize Georgetown’s size advantage and muddy up the offense as the Hoyas tried to force the ball down low.

Ewing adjusted by sitting both of his 7-footers and going with a small lineup with a 6-9 wing, Pickett, as the tallest player on the floor. The tweak seemed to spark the Hoyas, who started making jumpers and protecting the basketball better. Georgetown closed the first half on a 23-5 run, with all but a pair of free throws in that stretch scored by Blair, Bile or Pickett.

“We lost to Navy and we got better versus West Virginia,” Ewing said. “We still made mistakes that hurt us that cost us the game. I thought, today, we even got better. It’s still a work in progress, and we have a long way to go. But we’re still working. We have to stop turning the ball over. We made shots. We made our free throws. We have to continue to do that. Guys that get their opportunity, they have to step up and get the job done.”

As the Hoyas heated up, the Eagles went cold. Georgetown’s defense wasn’t smothering, and a switch to zone helped, but Coppin State fired away from the outside and clanked shot after shot. The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference squad shot 27.3 percent from the field and 21.1 percent from behind the arc.

“I think the zone definitely rattled them a little bit,” Pickett said.

Georgetown shot 54.7 percent from the field and 43.5 percent from three-point range. Still, the Hoyas finished with 26 turnovers compared to 12 by the Eagles. Georgetown made up for that by outrebounding Coppin State 53-29.

Four-star freshman forward Jamari Sibley made his debut for the Hoyas after Ewing did not use him for the first three games of his college career. There was no injury issue, and Ewing said Sibley would play when he felt he was ready. The 6-8, 200-pounder from Milwaukee, the highest-rated player in Georgetown’s recruiting class, finished 0 for 2 from the field with a steal in eight minutes. Another member of the class, 6-4 forward Kobe Clark, left the game with help from trainers in the first half and did not return. He seemed to twist his ankle as he landed, and he sat on the bench wearing a walking boot during the second half. Ewing called it a sprained ankle but needed to know more from the medical staff.

Coppin State Coach Juan Dixon, the former Maryland star, was disappointed yet encouraged by the loss. His team played without any bigs and starting point guard DeJuan Clayton (St. John’s College High), its No. 2 scorer and assist leader.

“To start off the game, we played with good intensity,” Dixon said. “Our attention to detail was at a high level on the defensive end. We caused some havoc. We made them uncomfortable. We let our offense impact what we did on the defensive end.

“It wasn’t so much what Georgetown did; it’s what we didn’t do. No disrespect. They’re a good team, but you guys witnessed what we did early in the game. Then we just stopped guarding. … When we get our bigs, Coppin State is a serious problem. Remember I said that.”

The Hoyas are slated to open Big East play at 7 p.m. Friday when No. 9 Villanova (4-1) visits McDonough Arena.