Mourning guard posts his first double-double
Georgetown rolled to an easy 69-53 win over Tulane in its first home game of the season on Monday, a game the Hoyas played with a heavy heart and that was in part overshadowed by the loss of a second frontcourt player to an off-court issue.
Junior guard Jason Clark registered his career first double-double, scoring 17 points, pulling down a career-high 11 rebounds and matching a career-high with five steals on the day his 69-year-old grandmother, Janette Clark, passed away from cancer.
“She told me that when this day happened that she wanted me to continue,” Clark said. “She wanted me to succeed so I knew she would want me to play today.”
The Hoyas (2-0) led by as many as 20 points in the first half thanks to hot-shooting from Austin Freeman (23 points), who hit a trio of 3-pointers before halftime. Chris Wright (seven points) helped facilitate the offense, matching a career high with eight assists.
Before the game, Georgetown announced senior forward Julian Vaughn would not play because of an undisclosed medical issue after not feeling well at practice the day before. Vaughn, who missed 13 games as a freshman at Florida State with a heart issue, was not in attendance at Verizon Center for the game against the Green Wave.
Afterward, Georgetown coach John Thompson III said he was unsure whether Vaughn would travel with the team Tuesday to South Carolina, where it will play three games in the Charleston Classic this weekend. The Hoyas also are without freshman forward Moses Ayegba, who was ruled ineligible by the NCAA for the season’s first nine games.
