McCutcheon shines in Georgetown debut

Hunter McCutcheon suited up for the first time as a Tiger on Friday night after missing the first 14 games of the season. The shooting guard made up for lost time in a big way by knocking down 5 of 6 three-pointers in a 103-71 win over Miami-Hamilton to push the season-opening win streak to 15 straight.

Georgetown came out on fire with 3 straight layups from Tae Dozier, Andres Burney and Jabrion Spikes. After the Harriers got on the board, Dre Boyd and Darien Lewis started a 15-0 run that ultimately gave Georgetown a 21-2 lead just seven minutes into the game. In the blistering start, the Tigers made 10 of 11 shots from the floor. Miami-Hamilton then hit back-to-back threes to get settled into the game. The Harriers kept shooting and cut the margin down to 12 at 30-18 with 7 minutes to play in the half. Jaquias Franklin then stepped up and knocked down 3 straight threes as part of an 11-0 run to push the lead out to 23. Just as the run began, Hunter McCutcheon took to the floor for the first time in uniform. He missed 2 mid-range jumpers to start, but apparently was just too close to the basket as he drilled his first 3 in the final seconds of the half to give the Tigers a 51-28 lead at the break.

After an exchange of buckets to start the 2nd half, Georgetown had a 55-34 lead with 17:42 to play. Free throws from Andres Burney were the start of a 13-0 run, highlighted by dunks from Jabrion Spikes and Tae Dozier that gave the Tigers a 68-34 lead with 13:10 to go. Hunter McCutcheon returned to action with just over 8 minutes to go and a 78-46 Georgetown lead. At the 6:36 mark, he nailed his second 3 of the game, followed by a third with 3:54 to go for a 90-54 lead. McCutcheon put a capper on a stellar debut with 2 more long-range threes inside the final 2 minutes that brought the house down.

Hunter McCutcheon finished with 15 points, one of five Tigers to cross double-figures on a night the team shot 69% from the field, including a staggering 30-35 from inside the 3-point line. Tae Dozier led the Tigers with 17. Jaquias Franklin scored 14 of his 16 in the first half to go along with 6 assists, tying Darien Lewis for the team-high. As a team, Georgetown dished out 33 assists on 42 made baskets. Jabrion Spikes tallied 14 points, and Andres Burney ended with 11.

Georgetown will go for its 16th straight win on Sunday against Washington Adventist. Tip time was scheduled for 1:00pm but has been moved up to 10:00am ahead of Sunday's impending winter storm.