Hoyas end Bamas streak

Having freshly been forwarded, this press release documents Georgetown's thrilling two point win that ended Alabama's 24 game winning streak. A review of our real-time, in-game chat is available on the Premium Court message board.

Thompson's Three-Pointer Lifts Georgetown Past No. 12 Alabama, 57-55

Tuscaloosa, Ala. - Junior forward Hollis Thompson (Los Angeles, Calif./Loyola) hit a three-pointer with 1.8 seconds left and Georgetown beat No. 12 Alabama, 57-55, in front of a sellout crowd at Coleman Coliseum, the Hoyas' second win over a top-15 team this season.

Senior guard Jason Clark (Arlington, Va./Bishop O'Connell) scored a game-high 22 points, while senior center Henry Sims (Baltimore, Md./Mount St. Joseph's) added 13 points

Georgetown is now 6-1 overall, while Alabama falls to 7-1 and has a 24-game home court win streak end.

After trailing for most of the game, Alabama pulled ahead briefly on free throws from Trevor Lacey with 7:30 to play, but the Hoyas took it back on a pair of free throws from Sims. That started a 14-6 run for Georgetown, capped by a three-pointer from Clark and a jumper from Thompson, giving GU a 54-45 lead with 2:57 to play.

Alabama, however, used an 10-0 run and took a 55-54 lead on free throws from Trevor Releford with 12.7 seconds left. The Crimson Tide had narrowed the lead to one point, 54-43, when Tony Mitchell hit one of two free throws and the the Hoyas had a chance to extend the lead in the final seconds but a shot from Sims was off the mark, giving the Crimson Tide one more chance. Releford was fouled by Clark with 12.7 seconds left and he hit both free throws to give Bama the lead.

Leading by seven points at the break (23-16), the Hoyas took their biggest lead, 26-18, on a three-pointer from Clark early in the half. Alabama, playing in front of a raucous, sellout crowd of 15,383, used a 7-0 spurt and to get within one point, 26-25, on a dunk from Tony Mitchell with 17:29 to play. A layup from sophomore guard Markel Starks (Accokeek, Md./Georgetown Prep) and a three-pointer from Thompson pushed the lead back to 31-25.

Georgetown led by four, 35-31, after a jumper from Thompson and still held a three-point lead, 38-34, on a three-pointer from freshman forward Greg Whittington (Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills). Alabama, however, used a 6-2 spurt to take a 41-40 lead, their first since early in the game, on free throws from Trevor Lacey.

The Hoyas jumped out to a 23-16 lead at the break, using a 7-0 run over the final 4:02 of the opening half after a slow start. Alabama took the early lead, with an alley-oop dunk from Tony Mitchell giving the Crimson Tide a 6-2 lead. It was 7-2 after a free throw from Levi Randolph, but a three-pointer from Clark and a jumper from sophomore forward Nate Lubick (Southborough, Mass./St. Marks) cut the lead to 9-7. That was the start of a 9-3 run over 3:34 that saw the Hoyas take their first lead of the game midway through the first half when Whittington found Clark underneath for a layup, giving GU an 11-10 lead.

The teams traded the lead back and forth two times apiece, with Alabama holding a 14-13 lead at 8:14 after a Mitchell layup. Georgetown out-scored the Crimson Tide 10-2 over the final 7:50 of the half. A layup from Sims gave GU a 15-14 lead and one of two free throws from Starks made it 16-14. Alabama tied it at 16-all on a jumper from Nick Jacobs - their only field goal in the last 7:50 - but a three-pointer from Clark gave the Hoyas for good before the break. Clark, who led all scorers with 12 points in the first half, scored the team's final seven points, including a jumper with 2:34 left and free throws with 1:56 left.

This was the fifth meeting all-time between Georgetown and Alabama, with each team winning a pair of games.

Georgetown is back in action on Saturday, Dec. 3, hosting NJIT (New Jersey Institute of Technology) at Verizon Center. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. The game will be shown live on ESPN3, with Byron Kerr and Glenn Consor calling all of the action. Fans locally can tune in to Rich Chvotkin's radio call on Sports Talk AM 570.