Georgetown Digs Deep for a High Point

Just how deep is No. 10-ranked Georgetown’s roster? Wesley Wilson, a reserve sophomore center averaging 14 minutes and seven points a game, scored 18 points to lead the Hoyas to a 79-62 victory over Nevada Las Vegas at the MCI Center in Washington Thursday night.

“You saw how well Wesley can play if the stupid coach gives him some minutes,” said Georgetown Coach Craig Esherick, whose team improved to 17-1,

Wilson had plenty of incentive against UNLV (11-8). It was his 21st birthday, and UNLV’s interim coach Max Good was his high school coach, playing him sparingly.

Georgetown needed the big contribution from the 6-foot-10, 250-pound Wilson as starting guards Demetrius Hunter and Kevin Braswell each made only two of nine shots. The Hoyas trailed by 10 points after the game’s first 4 1/2 minutes and didn’t have a field goal until Wilson made three consecutive shots. He finished seven-for-11 shooting and was effective defensively against UNLV’s inside threat Kaspars Kambala, who was six for 18 with 12 points.

After the game, Wilson spoke in modest terms about team play and contributing off the bench, but couldn’t hold back when asked about a dunk with 12 seconds left that punctuated his big night.

“I did that one for my birthday,” Wilson said.

Wilson and Braswell played for Good at Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield, Maine. Neither started on a team that went undefeated and won the New England Prep School Athletic Conference championship. Good knew they would be wanting to impress him.

“It’s human nature that they wanted to play well,” Good said. “Wesley concentrated hard on academics when he was at our place, but you knew he was going to be a really good player. He had size and he’s got strength. He came to the right system.”

Actually, Wilson didn’t play last season because of academic problems but has proven to be a solid backup to Ruben Boumtje Boumtje, one of the Big East’s best centers. In fact, superior depth is one of the reasons Georgetown is off to its best start since the Patrick Ewing-led 1984-85 team went 18-0.

Nine Hoyas played at least 15 minutes.

“They’ve got so much depth and power,” Good said. “They’ve got all their bases covered.”

No. 7 Illinois 55, Michigan 51--The Illini (16-4, 6-1) trailed the Wolverines (8-8) for more than 33 minutes of the Big Ten game at Ann Arbor, Mich., but took the lead for good with 2:59 left on Sergio McClain’s three-point basket.

It was the fourth consecutive victory for Illinois, which has a half-game lead over Michigan State in the Big Ten. The Illini is off to its best start in the conference since the 1983-84 season, when it reached the NCAA tournament’s round of eight.

Michigan’s LaVell Blanchard had 26 points after scoring a career-high 30 in a victory over Iowa--a Top 25 team--last Saturday. Frank Williams led Illinois with 18 points.

Both teams shot 34%.

No. 17 Iowa State 72, Baylor 51--Jake Sullivan and Kantrail Horton combined to make eight of 16 three-point shots over the Bears’ zone defense in the Big 12 game at Ames, Iowa, to lead Cyclones (16-3, 4-2) to their 31st home victory in a row.

Baylor concentrated its defensive effort on stopping the penetration of flashy guard Jamaal Tinsley, but Sullivan and Horton crossed up that strategy by scoring 24 of their combined 33 points from behind the arc. Sullivan, a freshman, had a career-best 19 points.

Baylor (13-4, 2-4) never recovered from a cold-shooting first half and didn’t reach 40 points until 2:36 remained. The Bears shot 37.4% for the game, committed 20 turnovers and were outrebounded 43-29.

WOMEN

Sheana Mosch scored the final 13 points of overtime and finished with 29 as No. 4 Duke (19-1, 6-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) won its 10th consecutive game, 92-85, over North Carolina (10-8, 4-4) at Chapel Hill, N.C. LaQuanda Barksdale had 31 points and 15 rebounds for North Carolina. Barksdale made 12 of 19 shots, including a three-point attempt with 1.8 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 76-76. . . . Christi Thomas scored 25 points and No. 5 Georgia (17-3, 5-1 in the Southeastern Conference) held Mississippi (13-5, 1-4) without a field goal for 12 minutes of the second half in a 74-51 victory at Athens, Ga. Georgia’s Kelly Miller made four consecutive free throws to extend her streak to a school-record 36. . . . No. 6 Purdue (18-3, 8-0 in the Big Ten) missed its first 10 shots then went on a 17-0 run en route to its 10th consecutive victory, 86-61, over Minnesota (8-10, 1-6) at Minneapolis. . . . . . . Ayana Walker led five players in double figures with 22 points and No. 8 Louisiana Tech (16-4, 7-0 in the Sun Belt Conference) overcame a two-for-11 shooting start in an 80-57 victory over Middle Tennessee (9-10, 2-6) at Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Brandi McCain scored 21 points and Vanessa Hayden had 19 points and 13 rebounds at Gainesville, Fla., to help No. 10 Florida (16-2) extend its home win streak to 13 in an 88-56 victory over Providence (7-9). Florida attempted 23 free throws in the first half, making 21. . . . No. 19 Penn State (13-6, 5-3 in the Big Ten) made 11 of 13 free throws in the last 2:32 to hold off Indiana (13-6, 4-4) for a 79-70 victory at Bloomington, Ind. Indiana lost to Penn State for the 14th time in 15 games and is winless in its last 16 games against Top 25 opponents. . . . Deedee Warley scored seven of her team’s final eight points and finished with 17 to lead Maryland (13-6, 4-4 in the ACC) to a 57-56 victory over No. 22 North Carolina State (11-8, 2-6) at Raleigh, N.C. North Carolina State blew a 12-point lead in the final seven minutes to losing for the fourth time in a row--its longest streak since 1985-86.