KJ Lewis had 14 points and three steals in his Georgetown debut as the Hoyas beat Morgan State 87-70 in the season opener for both teams on Monday night in Washington, D.C.
Malik Mack added 11 points and DeShawn Harris-Smith had 10 as the Hoyas used a strong defensive performance in forcing 16 turnovers on a night when they shot only 15.4% (4 of 26) from 3-point range.
Georgetown coach Ed Cooley won his opener in his third season with the team.
Rob Lawson scored a game-high 20 points and Alfred Worrell Jr. had 14 to lead Morgan State. The Bears scored the first five points and led for most of the first 10 minutes before succumbing to Georgetown’s pressure defense and ability to get to the line. Georgetown made more free throws (27) than the Bears attempted (24).
Lewis, an Arizona transfer who was named to the All-Big East second team in the preseason poll, forced a steal and gathered the loose ball before finishing with a dunk to give the Hoyas their largest lead at 80-51 with 4:42 remaining. The Hoyas finished with 11 steals and held a decisive 29-5 advantage in points off turnovers.
Georgetown struggled from the field early, missing 9 of its first 11 shots and twice trailed Morgan State by as many as six. The Hoyas took their first lead of the game at 14-13 on two Harris-Smith free throws with 10:54 left in the half.
Georgetown improved to 16-0 all-time vs Morgan State and has won each meeting by double digits. The Hoyas used an 11-0 run that was capped by a Mack layup to take a 31-21 lead with 5:57 left in the half and never trailed again.
The Hoyas took a 42-34 lead into the break despite missing 14 of 16 3-pointers in the first half.
