No. 18 Georgetown Rolls Past Ball State

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The winning brother doesn't want a rematch. The emotional toil of facing his younger sibling is just too much to take. <br/><br/>The losing brother feels it's necessary. After

Tuesday, November 28th 2006, 6:09 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The winning brother doesn't want a rematch. The emotional toil of facing his younger sibling is just too much to take.

The losing brother feels it's necessary. After all, he needs to get even.

The sons of Hall of Fame coach John Thompson met for the first time as head coaches Monday night. John Thompson III beat up on kid brother Ronny Thompson as No. 18 Georgetown rolled to a 69-54 victory over Ball State.

``A return game next year? We may cancel that,'' John III said. ``This is hard. I knew it would be difficult, and it was much more difficult, to tell you the truth, than I ever thought it would be. That's my brother. I want them to have some success. I want to watch their tapes in a manner in which to help them rather than figure out to beat them.''

Ronny said the game was a ``lose-lose'' proposition, but he can't stand being down 1-0 to his brother. He definitely wants a sequel.

``No doubt about it,'' Ronny said. ``And he knows that.''

In the middle was Pops, as his sons call him. The elder Thompson was expressionless as he watched the mismatch from his courtside seat, lest he be perceived as showing any impartiality. He objected to the game from the start _ he told Ronny the game was a ``stupid'' idea when both appeared on the radio earlier in the day _ and he showed up wearing a neutral black baseball cap with a gray letter ``T'' _ for Thompson _ embroidered on the front.

``A Thompson has to lose, and that's the frustrating feeling of a game like this,'' said the coach who led Georgetown for 27 years and won an NCAA title in 1984.

His sons hardly engaged in a fair fight. The nationally ranked Hoyas (4-1) of the Big East were bigger, stronger and more talented than their jet-lagged opponents from the Mid-American Conference. Georgetown never trailed, shot 52 percent, controlled the paint and had assists on 13 of its 14 first-half field goals to take a 40-28 lead at the break.

``My brother has layers and layers of 6-8, 6-9,'' said Ronny Thompson, a first-year head coach with plenty of rebuilding to do. ``You can't offset Mother Nature sometimes.''

In other top 25 games it was: No. 8 Marquette 65, Valparaiso 62; No. 9 Texas A&M 75, Arkansas-Little Rock 35; and No. 15 Syracuse 72, Holy Cross 64.

Jeff Green, who had scored 10 points in his last two games combined, had 12 of his 14 in the first half. Freshman DaJuan Summers scored 12 points, and freshman Vernon Macklin scored more points (10) than he had previously in the entire season combined. The Hoyas played again without swingman Tyler Crawford, who has lost 25 pounds during a battle with strep throat and is working to regain his strength.

Micah Rollin and Anthony Newell scored 10 points apiece to lead the Cardinals (2-4), who were playing their third game in four days and had to take a red-eye to Washington after a Saturday game in a tournament in Las Vegas. Ball State has lost four straight.

``I'd be lying if I told you that it was just like playing another game,'' said Ronny Thompson, who played for his father at Georgetown from 1988-92. ``I wanted to beat him something terrible, to be honest with you. And I think my guys felt that. But it's different. It's one of those deals where I wanted to beat him, but after the game it's a lose-lose deal.''

Ronny, 37, is a rookie head coach with plenty of rebuilding to do, 40-year-old John III is in his third year at Georgetown following four years at Princeton. The brothers were on opposite benches only once before, when the older brother's Princeton team beat Georgetown in the 1999 NIT _ when Ronny was an assistant with the Hoyas.

John III has had two Hall of Fame mentors _ his father and longtime Princeton coach Pete Carril _ but he called said his younger brother his ``biggest resource in this business.''

That's what made this game so tough.

``Last night, they're practicing at our gym,'' John III said. ``And I wanted to watch the practice _ not to try to get any competitive advantage. I just had never seen my brother run a practice. I wanted to sit there and see how he organizes and structures and runs a practice, and I couldn't.''

No. 8 Marquette 65, Valparaiso 62

Dominic James scored 22 points _ including the winning 3-pointer with 3 seconds left to lead visiting Marquette.

James made a 3-pointer with 37 seconds left that gave Marquette (7-0) a 62-59 lead. Jarryd Loyd answered with a 3 over James with 21 seconds remaining to tie it, before James hit the winner from the top of the key.

Shawn Huff scored 22 points for Valparaiso (3-2), which has lost 17 straight games to ranked teams since making it to the round of 16 in the 1998 NCAA tournament.

No. 9 Texas A&M 75, Arkansas-Little Rock 35

Acie Law scored 17 points and Joseph Jones finished with 16 to lead No. 19 Texas A&M.

The host Aggies (6-0) had four players score in double figures as Antanas Kavaliauskas added 13 points and Josh Carter had 11.

Rashad Jones-Jennings had 10 points and five rebounds for the Trojans (4-3), who were 0-of-20 on 3-pointers.

No. 15 Syracuse 72, Holy Cross 64

Demetris Nichols scored 21 points and Paul Harris had 14 for host Syracuse (7-0).

The Orange raced to a 23-7 lead in the first 13 minutes and then held on at the end.

Holy Cross (5-1) is off to its best start in coach Ralph Willard's eight years. It hadn't started a season with five straight wins since the 1988-89 team went 6-0. Keith Simmons led the Crusaders with 22 points.