The Georgetown Hoyas (5-0, Big East) handily defeated the Maine Black Bears (1-6, America East) by a score of 76-55 on Tuesday night. Kaleb Johnson scored a game-high 18 points for the Hoyas, who are off to their best start since the 2010-11 campaign.

Georgetown jumped out to an 11-point lead after just five minutes of play and never looked to be in real danger of surrendering their lead in the first half. The team would lead by as many as 18 in the period, with Johnson, Marcus Derrickson and Jessie Govan doing most of the heavy lifting. Jamorko Pickett, the team’s lone starting freshman, struggled in the half, scoring just one point while committing three turnovers in 15 minutes of play.

In the second half, Maine’s fullcourt pressure gave the Georgetown problems early on, but head coach Patrick Ewing used the team’s backcourt depth to insert multiple ball-handlers into the game at any given time. Blair, Mulmore, Jagan Mosely and Trey Dickerson all recorded significant minutes in the half while committing just one turnover combined.

As a unit, the Hoyas committed just 12 turnovers to the Black Bears’ 20, but struggled to shoot the ball from deep, connecting on 22 percent of their 3-point attempts. Maine was no better from the field, making 37 percent of field goals and a dismal 17 percent from 3-point range.

Govan finished with 16 points and 8 assists for Georgetown, while Derrickson Jahvon Blair and Jonathan Mulmore all tallied double figures in the win.

One Big Thing

Kaleb Johnson might just be a true offensive scoring threat. Prior to last season, there were rumors that the guard/forward had made significant strides offensively, but these gains were never realized during the regular season.

This year, however, Johnson has consistently posted scoring outputs in the high teens, and he recorded a career-high 24 points against UMES. Through five games, he is averaging just below 14 points per game on 65 percent shooting, including 57 percent from deep.

If Johnson is able to maintain his scoring pace, the Hoyas may just have an offensive weapon they weren’t expecting to have at their disposal entering the season.