Hoyas center finishes with 16 boards in win
The plea from the Georgetown faithful has been ceaseless since Greg Monroe arrived on the Hilltop.
Be dominant.
And over the last year and a half, Monroe has responded with various combinations of points and rebounds. There are also undoubtedly tougher tests still waiting for him in the Big East.
But the way he single-handedly wrestled control against Harvard in a 86-70 victory on Wednesday afternoon might have finally quenched the long-unsatisfied thirst of Hoyas fans who can’t get enough of the skilled sophomore center — if only Verizon Center had been more than barely half full two days before Christmas.
After the Crimson (7-3) hung tough with the 14th-ranked Hoyas (9-2) for most of the first half, Monroe altered the course of the contest, helping turn a 33-33 tie into a 44-33 halftime lead with a putback, two blocks and a drawn charge — on talented Harvard guard Jeremy Lin — over a stretch of five possessions.
Even when he looked fallible at the other end, having had the ball stripped himself, Monroe responded with a steal before the Crimson could cross halfcourt and then fed Chris Wright for an easy layup for the final bucket of the half.
Less than three minutes into the second half, Monroe completed his eighth career double-double en route to a stunning complete line: 16 points, a career-high 16 rebounds, five blocks, four steals and two assists.
With the outcome dictated, Wright freely rolled to his own career-high of 34 points, making up for a season-low four points in Georgetown’s loss to Old Dominion last weekend. It was the most points scored by a Hoya since Jeff Green in 2007. Wright also added a career-high six assists. Austin Freeman matched his career-high with 21 points.
Lin, who came into the game having scored a combined 55 points in Harvard’s last two games, a six-point loss to Connecticut and win over Boston College, was spectacular in bursts, including two first-half steals that he converted with a dunk and an acrobatic double-clutch layup, respectively. But his team-high 15 points couldn’t make up for the Crimson’s 21 turnovers — of which Lin had six — that turned into 36 points for the Hoyas.
