By R.L. Bynum
Dontrez Styles had another big game for Georgetown in Saturday night’s 88–81 home victory over Jackson State in the Hoyas’ third straight win.
Styles, second on the team with a 17.8 scoring average, scored 22 points and two 3-pointers, and had five rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
The Hoyas (4–2) rebounded from losses to Holy Cross and Rutgers before the three-game streak. In the three wins, Styles is averaging 23.3 points and eight rebounds and hasn’t turned the ball over.
Styles said that the team is learning from the early setbacks.
“The journey is going to be the journey,” said Styles, who scored 13 first-half points. “There’s going to be ups and downs, so you just got to embrace it. The team is new — new staff, new players. So we’re all trying to jell, but we know at the end of the day we’re trying to win. So we’ve got to do whatever it takes to speed it up as much as possible.”
Styles is 12 of 30 from 3-point range, but has been most dangerous with short jumpers.
“A lot of kids don’t really do the mid-range game anymore, but I know that’s where my strength is so I go out there and play with confidence,” he said.
Justin McKoy led Hawaii to the championship at the Acrisure Invitational in Palm Desert, Calif., with a 76–57 Friday victory over UT Rio Grande Valley and a 77–66 Saturday win over San Diego.
McKoy, averaging 12.4 points through five games, had seven points, 14 rebounds, three assists and two steals on Friday, then 17 points and five rebounds in the championship game.
The Rainbow Warriors are 5–0 for the first time since the 2010–11 season.
Penn State lost all three games at the ESPN Events Invitational near Orlando. The Nittany Lions (4–3), after falling 89–77 in the first round to No. 12 Texas A&M, fell 88–78 Friday against Butler and 86–74 in a Sunday morning loss to VCU.
D’Marco Dunn had two points and four rebounds Friday, then collected 11 points and three steals on Sunday. Puff Johnson had four points and two rebounds Friday, then contributed seven points, two rebounds and two steals on Sunday.
In that same ESPN Events Invitational, Tyler Nickel had two points, a rebound and an assist in 24 minutes as Virginia Tech lost Sunday to No. 19 Florida Atlantic 84–50.
Dawson Garcia had 19 points, two 3-pointers and six rebounds as Minnesota (4–2) lost 67–58 at San Francisco on Sunday night.
Destiny Adams’ Rutgers team (3–5) has lost three in a row after losing both games over the weekend at the South Point Classic in Las Vegas.
Adams had 13 points, three rebounds and three assists before fouling out in the Scarlet Knights’ 79–72 Friday loss to Texas Tech, and had six points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals in Saturday’s 68–65 setback against Boise State.
In a 58-45 Saturday win over Little Rock, Kennedy Todd-Williams contributed 11 points and six rebounds for No. 24 Ole Miss.
Todd Williams is shooting 31.3% from the floor on the season but has made only 2 of 16 3-point attempts.
In Texas Tech’s 73–57 Friday victory in a losers’ bracket game at the Battle 4 Atlantis, Kerwin Walton had two points in 16 minutes. He has eight points over five games for the 5–1 Red Raiders.
Will Shaver didn’t play in UAB’s 92–86 home win Saturday over Furman and has only gotten into two of the six games for the 4–2 Blazers.
Checking in on 11 former Heels
Destiny Adams, Rutgers forward
6–3 | Junior | UNC 2021–23 (2 seasons)
77–69 Wednesday, March 6, loss vs. Minnesota in first round of Big Ten tournament — Started; 38 minutes, 31 points, 12–24 FG, 0–1 3FG, 7–12 FT, career-high 24 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 fouls, 4 turnovers, 1 block, 1 steal, -11, 16.7 game score
Season statistics — 32 games, 32 starts, 15.6 points, 50.1 FG%, 1–8 3FG, 68.3 FT%, 7.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.6 steals, 0.8 of a block
Record — 8–24; season over
D’Marco Dunn, Penn State guard
6–5, 195 pounds | Junior | UNC 2021–23 (2 seasons)
61–59 Thursday, March 13, loss vs. Indiana in second round of Big Ten tournament — Didn’t start; 25 minutes, 9 points, 2–5 FG, 1–2 3PFG, 2 rebounds, 1 foul, -11, 4.9 game score
Season statistics — 33 games, 12 starts; 6.8 points, 39.5 FG%, 36.6 3P%, 73.8 FT%, 1.8 rebounds, 0.6 of an assist
Record — 16–17; season over
Dawson Garcia, Minnesota forward
6–11, 230 pounds | Junior | UNC 2020–21 (part of 1 season)
73–72 Tuesday win at Butler in the first round of the NIT — Started; 34 minutes, 25 points, 11–19 FG, 1–4 3FG, 2–2 FT, 4 rebounds, 4 fouls, 2 turnovers
76–64 Sunday loss at Indiana State in the second round of the NIT — Started; 28 minutes, 6 points, 2–5 FG, 2–2 FT, 12 rebounds, 4 fouls, 4 turnovers, 2 blocks
Season statistics — 31 games, 31 starts; 17.6 points (led team), 48.6 FG%, 31.9 3P%, 80.2 FT%, 6.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 block
Record — 19–15; season over
Puff Johnson, Penn State wing
6–8, 205 pounds | Senior | UNC 2020–23 (3 seasons)
61–59 Thursday, March 13, loss vs. Indiana in second round of Big Ten tournament — Started; 31 minutes, 16 points, 4–11 FG, 2–6 3PFG, 7–7 FT, 8 rebounds, 4 fouls, 2 steals, -5, 12.1 game score
Season statistics — 29 games, 12 starts; 7.3 points, 42.2 FG%, 33.3 3P%, 78.5 FT%, 3.1 rebounds, 0.7 of a steal
Record — 16–17; season over
Caleb Love, Arizona guard
6–4, 205 pounds | Senior | UNC 2020–23 (3 seasons)
85–65 Thursday win over Long Beach State in the first round of NCAA tournament quarterfinals in Salt Lake City — Started; 34 minutes, 18 points, 6–17 FG, 3–12 3FG, 3–5 FT, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block, 2 steals, +24, 18.0 game score
78–68 Saturday win vs. Dayton in the second round of NCAA tournament in Salt Lake City — Started; 35 minutes, 19 points, 6–15 FG, 3–8 3FG, 4–6 FT, 3 rebounds, 1 foul, 5 assists, 4 turnovers, 1 block 1 steal, +6, 11.8 game score
Season statistics — 35 games, 35 starts; 18.1 points (leads team), 41.8 FG%, 34.3 3P%, 83.6 FT%, 4.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.1 steals
Record — 27–8; Rank — No. 6; Next game — 7:09 Thursday vs. Clemson in NCAA Sweet 16 in Los Angeles, CBS
Justin McKoy, Hawaii guard
6–8, 230 pounds | Graduate student | UNC 2021–23 (2 seasons)
68–65 Friday, March 15, loss vs. UC Davis in semifinals of Big West tournament — Started; 33 minutes, 10 points, 3–11 FG, 0–3 3FG, 4–4 FT, 6 rebounds, 1 assists, 3 fouls, -9, 1.6 game score
Season statistics — 34 games, 34 starts, 12.4 points, 47.4 FG%, 36.8 3P%, 87.2 FT%, 6.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists
Record — 20–14; season over
Tyler Nickel, Virginia Tech guard
6–7, 225 pounds | Sophomore | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
74–58 Tuesday win vs. Richmond in the first round of NIT — Didn’t start; 17 minutes, 3 points, 1–1 FG, 1–1 FT, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 foul, +2, 3.3 game score
81–73 Saturday loss at Ohio State in the second round of NIT — Didn’t start; 12 minutes, 6 points, 2–7 FG, 2–4 3PFG, 2 fouls, 1 turnover, -9, 0.1 game score
Season statistics — 34 games, 7 starts; 8.8 points, 43.8 FG%, 39.9 3P%, 82.0 FT%, 2.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists
Record — 19–15; season over
Will Shaver, UAB center
6–10, 270 pounds | Redshirt sophomore | UNC 2022–23 (1 season)
69–65 Friday loss vs. San Diego State in the first round of NCAA tournament in Spokane, Wash. — 4 minutes, 1 point, 1–2 FT, -4, 0.6 game score
Season statistics — 18 games, 87 minutes, 20 points, 6–17 FG, 0–2 3FG, 8–16 FT, 18 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 steal
Record — 23–12; season over
Dontrez Styles, Georgetown wing
6–6, 212 pounds | Junior | UNC 2021–23 (2 seasons)
74–56 Wednesday, March 13, loss vs. Providence in first round of Big East tournament — Started; 35 minutes, 7 points, 3–7 FG, 0–3 3FG, 1–5 FT, 9 rebounds, 1 assists, 3 fouls, 2 turnovers
Season statistics — 32 games, 32 starts, 12.8 points, 43.0 FG%, 36.8 3P%, 77.6 FT%, 5.8 rebounds, 0.8 of an assist, 0.6 of a block
Record — 9–23; season over
Kennedy Todd-Williams, Ole Miss guard
6–0 | Senior | UNC 2020–23 (3 seasons)
67–55 Saturday win vs. Marquette in South Bend, Ind., in first round of NCAA tournament — Started; 35 minutes, 15 points, 5–13 FG, 2–4 3FG, 3–6 FT, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 foul, 2 steals, +15, 12.2 game score
71–56 Monday loss at Notre Dame in the second round of NCAA tournament — Started; 33 minutes, 15 points, 5–12 FG, 1–6 3FG, 4–4 FT, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 fouls, 3 steals, -12, 9.4 game score
Season statistics — 33 games, 25 starts; 10.6 points, 38.4 FG%, 26.7 3PFG%, 78.0 FT%, 4.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.3 steals
Record — 24–9; season over
Kerwin Walton, Texas Tech guard
6–5, 200 pounds | Senior | UNC 2020–22 (2 seasons)
80–67 Thursday loss to N.C. State in Pittsburgh in the first round of the NCAA tournament — Started; 20 minutes, 9 points, 3–5 FG, 3–4 3PFG, 5 rebounds, 4 fouls, -2, 8.2 game score
Season statistics — 32 games, 25 starts, 8.4 points, 49.5 FG%, 47.0 3P%, 72.7 FT%, 2.3 rebounds, 0.5 of an assist
Record — 23–11; season over
Photo via @GeorgetownHoops
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