Hoyas lose second straight

Following is a G'Town press release

Cincinnati Uses Late Comeback to Stop No. 11 Georgetown, 68-64

WASHINGTON - Georgetown took a six-point lead in the final minutes and had a chance to widen the gap, but Cincinnati used a late 7-0 run to tie the game and the Bearcats broke a 62-all tie on free throws from Cashmere Wright and held on for a 66-62 win over the Hoyas in front of 7,877 at Verizon Center Monday night.

It was the second-straight loss for the Hoyas, who fall to 13-3 overall and 3-2 in the BIG EAST, while Cincinnati improves to 13-4 overall and 3-1 in league play.

Junior forward Hollis Thompson (Los Angeles, Calif./Loyola) scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds, while senior guard Jason Clark (Arlington, Va./Bishop O'Connell) added 14 points and three rebounds. Senior center Henry Sims (Baltimore, Md./Mount St. Joseph) scored 10 points and sophomore forward Nate Lubick (Southborough, Mass./St. Marks) added eight points and eight rebounds.

The Hoyas took their biggest lead of the second half, 59-53, on a layup from Lubick with 6:31 to play. Both teams missed shots over the next minute before a three-pointer from UC's Sean Kilpatrack cut the lead to 59-56 with 5:22 left. A dunk from Yancy Gates with 2:55 left and free throws from Gates gave the Bearcats a 60-59 lead.

Georgetown took the lead back with a pair of free throws from Sims, 62-61, but a layup from Dion Dixon with 1:43 left gave UC the lead again. One of two free throws from Clark tied the game at 62-all with 1:33 left, but two free throws from Cashmere Wright gave UC the 64-62 lead with 1;07 left. After a pair of missed shots, the Hoyas picked up an offensive rebound with 24 seconds left but turned the ball over and Dixon hit two more free throws with eight seconds left to seal the win.

The Hoyas led 34-32 at the break after a back and forth first half featuring seven ties and eight lead changes and the Hoyas bumped their lead to four points, 36-32, on a layup from Clark. A 7-2 spurt over 1:33 gave UC a 39-38 lead on a layup from Sean Kilpatrick at 17:07 A three-pointer from Starks on the next possession at 16:44 gave the Hoyas

Georgetown took a 34-32 lead at the break thanks to a running, banked three-pointer from Thompson at the buzzer, the eighth lead change of the first half after a layup from Dion Dixon

The Hoyas had jumped out to a 9-2 lead on a layup from Starks six minutes into the game and led by seven after a layup from Whittington with 11:46 to play in the half. The Bearcats, who missed nine of their first 10 shots from the field, used a 12-0 run and took a 16-11 lead on a jumper from Dixon with 9:25 to play.

GU responded with a 9-2 spurt of its own, tying the game at 18-all on a three from Starks and taking a 20-18 lead on Clark's jumper at 5:53. Dixon tied the game at 20-all and the teams traded the lead six times over the final three minutes before Thompson's three gave the Hoyas the advantage before the break.

Freshman forward Otto Porter (Sikeston, Mo./Scott County Central) added six points and two assists, while sophomore guard Markel Starks (Accokeek, Md./Georgetown Prep) finished with 10 points and three rebounds.

The Hoyas shot 59.1 percent from the floor (26-of-44), were 66.7 percent from three-point land (6-of-9) and hit 60.0 percent of their free throws (6-of-10). Georgetown out-rebounded Cincinnati 26-23, but turned the ball over 17 times.

The Hoyas hit the road for a pair of BIG EAST games, starting on Sunday, Jan. 15 at St. John's. The game will be shown live on ESPN2, with Bob Picozzi and Tim Welsh calling the action. The game can be heard locally on ESPN 980 AM.