12/15/2001  

Box Score

Tony Bethel, sidelined with Mononucleosis for 6 games returned on 12/15/01 to help the Hoyas defeat the Spartans of Norfolk State 87-68. Kevin Braswell paced all scorers with 19 points, and dished out 7 assists while grabbing 4 boards.  Mike Sweetney who led all rebounders with 11 boards scored 17 on his way to his 11^th double-double. Gerald Riley contributed 11 and Tony Bethel added 10 to round out the quartet of Hoyas in double figures.

With several Hoyas taking exams earlier this morning, the sloppy play of the 1^st half is understandable. Missed assignments and inattention to defense by GU allowed 6 ties and 7 lead changes. Shooting only 34.4% from the field while allowing the Spartans to hit at a 39.4% clip, and being beaten on the boards 21-26 the Hoyas’ 7 point lead at intermission (39-32) was due to 6-0 run in the final 43 seconds of the half, including a trey by Bethel with 00:03 remaining.

In the second stanza the Hoyas came out with a sense of purpose, putting together a 15-4 run to move the game out of reach. Not only did the Hoyas’s shooting improve in the second frame (47.1% 16-34) but they outrebounded the Spartans 24-17.