Hoyas strap up, down American

HoyaReport.com will supplement this official G'Town press release with additional material, tomorrow. For immediate information regarding former Hoya standout Jeff Green's heart condition, one that will preclude his 2011-2012 season with the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics, see Twitter.com/HoyaNation.

Starks Leads No. 16 Georgetown Past American, 81-55

WASHINGTON - Sophomore guard Markel Starks (Accokeek, Md./Georgetown Prep) scored a career-high 18 points and led three players in double figures as No. 16 Georgetown used an early run in the second half en route to an 81-55 win over American in front of 9,964 fans at Verizon Center Saturday afternoon.

It was the seventh-straight win for the Hoyas, who improved to 9-1 overall, while American falls to 8-4.

Junior forward Hollis Thompson (Los Angeles, Calif./Loyola) scored 15 points and added eight rebounds, while senior center Henry Sims (Baltimore, Md./Mount St. Joseph's) added 17 points and a team-high six assists. Senior guard Jason Clark(Arlington, Va./Bishop O'Connell) chipped in nine points and three rebounds, while freshman forward Otto Porter (Sikeston, Mo./Scott County Central) scored eight points and had a game-high 10 rebounds.

The Hoyas led by six points at the break (32-26), but out-scored the Eagles 49-28 in the second half and hit 58.8 percent of their field goals en route to the win. GU held a 36-24 advantage on the boards.

Still in the midst of final exams, it was a sluggish start for both teams, with Georgetown holding a six-point lead at the break, 32-26. The lead changes hands six times over the opening eight minutes of the game, with a three-pointer from AU's John Schoof giving the Eagles a 5-2 lead. AU held its last lead, 10-9, on a three-pointer from Schoof with 12:16 to play.

A three-pointer from Starks, the second of three-straight shots he would hit, gave GU a 12-10, at 11:54. Just over 30 seconds later, he hit another and gave GU a 15-10 lead. AU narrowed the lead to one point, 15-14, on a layup from Schoof and free throws from Hinkle, but a 5-0 spurt form the Hoyas gave the hosts a 20-14 lead on a three-point play from Thompson.

Georgetown took its biggest lead of the half, 30-22, on a free throw from Porter with 55 seconds left and went into the break leading 32-26 after a layup from Simon McCormack with two seconds left.

Georgetown closes out a four-game homestand on Thursday, Dec. 22, hosting Memphis at Verizon Center. Tipoff at Verizon Center is slated for 7 p.m. The game will be shown live on ESPN2, with Sean McDonough and Bill Raftery calling all of the action. Fans locally can tune in to ESPN 980 AM for the radio call of Rich Chvotkin.